Lowell's Leverage
by Girl In the Library Corner
Summary: After deciding to stay in Underland, Alice realizes that she may have feelings for a certain Mad Hatter, but something happens that might ruin everything. Alice once again has to fight to save those she cares about, only this time there is more at stake.
1. Chapter 1

To begin, I want to point out that in the _original _script for _Alice in Wonderland _the 2010 Tim Burton film adaptation the Mad Hatter kisses Alice twice before she leaves to go back to her world. So obviously those of us who noticed a relationship blooming between the Mad Hatter and Alice were not imagining it. It was in the _original_ script. That being said, I want to develop that idea because I was disappointed in the ending of the film. **So I will start off with a part of the original script for the movie (it will be in **_italics_**) and go from there. Only the first chapter contains parts of the script. After that it is all my new idea.**

Oh and a big thanks to my betareader VintageNicky for helping me with the idea! :)

Disclaimer-I do not own or have any rights to Alice in Wonderland, any of the characters, etc. **I am borrowing parts of the original script of Tim Burton's movie in the first chapter only and after that the rest of the story is made up by me.** Oh, and I am not making any money off of this.

And in the words of the King of Hearts "Begin at the beginning and go on till you come

to the end: then stop." Enjoy!

...

Chapter One: The Beginning of the Ending

_MAD HATTER_

_Oh Frabjous Day! Callou! Callay!_

_He bursts into an enthusiastic dance of unbridled joy._

_ALICE_

_What's he doing?_

_CHESHIRE CAT_

_Futterwacken._

_At the end of his dance, the Hatter grabs Alice and kisses her passionately._

_-From Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland 2010 original script_

_..._

Now Alice, having never been kissed quite like this before, was quite shocked to say the least. It took her a few seconds to gather her wits about her, but when she did she realized two things. First, that the Hatter was quite a skilled kisser in her opinion, and secondly that her legs had turned the consistency of some form of jelly. Had the Hatter not had a firm grip on her she would have probably turned into a puddle at his feet. The Hatter finally released her after several throats were cleared and there was an uncomfortable cough from the White Queen. Alice found she was blushing profusely and couldn't quite look the Hatter in the eyes.

...

_The White Queen leans down to the still bleeding neck to catch a drop of its blood into a vial._

_WHITE QUEEN_

_And blood of the Jabberwocky. Alice. You have our everlasting gratitude. And for your efforts on our behalf._

_The Queen hands the vial to her. Alice takes it._

_ALICE_

_Is this the way home?_

_WHITE QUEEN_

_Drink._

_Alice lifts the vial to her lips._

_MAD HATTER_

_Don' t._

_ALICE_

_What?_

_MAD HATTER_

_Stay with us._

_She gasps at the idea...the crazy mad idea. She looks at him and her gaze travels to the strange and wonderful beings she's met in this strange and wonderful place._

_-From Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland 2010 original script_

_..._

Alice thought about the Hatter's suggestion. It did sound wonderful, but there were so many questions she still had about this place. After all, she had thought this place only a dream merely hours ago. She voiced a few of her concerns to the group. "But where would I stay? What would I do? In my world I have specific rules on where to go and who to be...I have no idea what is expected of me here..."

"Why you are expected to be the Alice of course," March Hare supplied, his left eye twitching a bit.

"And as for where you would stay," The White Queen began, "I would be honored to have you, my champion, stay in my castle at Marmoreal."

Alice smiled and considered this. They really did want her to stay. And she really wanted to stay. After all, it was much better than going back to that awful party and facing Hamish and the others. Surely she would miss her mother. And Margaret. But they both thought her odd anyway. She would never fit in and would always be a burden to her mother. Here she was thought to be almost completely normal. Even more normal than most she supposed, looking at the Hatter.

He smiled down at her and said, "As far as what to do, why, there are many things left to do. After all you haven't even let me make you a hat! You can't leave without a hat. I insist on making you the most marvelous and magnificent hat ever seen in Underland. And we still have to figure out why a raven is like a writing desk!"

"Well, I suppose I could stay a while..." Alice said thoughtfully. Hatter grinned so widely that she had to laugh. "So I guess it's off to Marmoreal then."

The White Queen gave orders to the chessmen to take the Red Queen and Stayn to the prison in Salazen Grum where they were to be guarded constantly. The rest of the group, tired and aching from the battle, set off for Marmoreal. The Hatter never releasing his hold on Alice's hand the entire way.

...

Review please! I need to know if you like or hate it! :)


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer-I do not own or have any rights to Alice in Wonderland, any of the characters, etc. Oh, and I am not making any money off of this.

Chapter Two: "Hat making is far more important than sleeping, silly Alice."

Review please!

* * *

Alice awoke in an unfamiliar place. Somewhere between blinking the sleep out of her eyes and stretching her aching limbs, all of her memories of the previous day returned to her. The memories of Hatter's kiss being the one that stood out in her mind. Just thinking about it made her blush.

The group had returned to the castle at Marmoreal after the battle with the Bloody Big Head, and a room had been prepared for Alice. Hatter had been doing nothing but happily chattering away the whole evening on the way to Marmoreal, but as he walked Alice to her room he was unusually silent. Gently he placed a kiss on her hand and whispered, "Goodnight, brave Alice," as he walked away. She had then entered her room with a sigh where she had promptly fallen asleep with all her armor on. One would question how Alice slept so soundly in such uncomfortable garments, but she had been utterly exhausted and so didn't notice until she woke up quite sore the next morning.

After finding someone to run her a bath and spending half her morning in it, Alice had to admit she felt almost Alice again. Now only if she had some food, she thought, she would feel even better. She thought back to when she had been to the kitchens before with the White Queen. Surely it couldn't be that difficult to find again.

The sounds of crashes and yelling were what caused her to eventually stumble upon the kitchens. Had it not been for the March Hare's madness, she might have never found her way. It was almost as if the corridors to the castle changed and moved since the last time she was here. Well, it was Wonderland after all. One never knew what to expect.

"Drink yer tea!" CRASH! "Eat yer biscuits! THUWNK. Alice entered the kitchen ducking as the Hare threw a half of teacup and part of a biscuit past her head. Laughing at the March Hare's madness she sat down at the table across from Mallymkun. "Is there any tea?" Alice asked politely. "Any tea?" cried Hare as he pulled his long ears, "There's always tea!" And with that said he set about pouring half of the tea in her cup and the rest on the table top while having what seemed to be a fit of violent twitches, shakes, and convulsions.

All of a sudden March bellowed "Yer late fer tea!" and threw the teapot at the unfortunate soul walking through the door at that moment. Luckily, said person was the Mad Hatter who knew March's antics well and ducked just in time for the teapot to miss him.

Alice blushed slightly at seeing Hatter, although she couldn't have told you why. Perhaps it was the way he smiled so widely at seeing her or perhaps it was the fact that he sat in the chair right next to her and they were almost touching. Whatever it was, it made butterflies erupt in her stomach as he leaned close to her and said gently "Good morning, dear Alice."

"Good morning, Hatter," Alice replied softly while keeping her eyes on the scone she was buttering and carefully avoiding his intense gaze. The March Hare and Mallymkun shared a quick look (well, for the Hare it was more of a twitch) and then suddenly were gone and the room was much too quiet.

"Alice...?" Hatter began. "Yes?" The Hatter seemed awfully fidgety today, Alice noticed.

"I made you a hat last night and I was wondering...would you like to try it on after tea?"

"Hatter, you made me a hat...last night?" Whereas she had fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, it seems that he had had the energy to stay up and make hats all night. Alice was starting to wonder if the Hatter ever got tired at all. "Weren't you exhausted?"

Hatter merely grinned and said, "Of course I was, silly Alice, but hat making is far more important than sleeping in any case." Alice considered if perhaps she should mention that if his health suffered from lack of sleep he probably couldn't make hats anyway, but decided against it. After all, what did she know about the Hatter's health? And with that thought another followed. What exactly did she know about the Mad Hatter in the first place?


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer-I do not own or have any rights to Alice in Wonderland, any of the characters, etc. Oh, and I am not making any money off of this.

Chapter Three: Blasted cat!

* * *

The Mad Hatter had been exhausted after the returning from the battle. However, he had been completely unable to fall asleep. The memory of the kiss he had shared with Alice on the battlefield kept him awake. It had been marvelous. No, mindboggling. It had been maddeningly mesmerizing. Oh, there were so many m words running through his head to describe it. So because he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, the Hatter did what all hatters do. He made Alice the hat he had promised. It had taken him all night and some of the morning, but when he finished he thought it the best hat he had made since his top hat. He just hoped Chessur didn't try to steal it too.

After he and Alice had had tea, he directed her to his workshop in the castle. He was probably more nervous than he should have been, it was only a hat after all, but the Hatter wore his emotions on his sleeve, so to speak, and he found it hard to keep them under control at times. So if he fidgeted too much, or if he seemed to laugh a little more nervously than usual, it was only because he cared very much for Alice's opinion of him.

As they entered his workshop, Hatter shouted "No peeking!" and he directed her to sit on a workbench with her eyes closed until he brought her the hat box.

It was a lovely little box with a blue and gold ribbon on top, but that was nothing compared to what was inside. Nestled in the box was a soft felt cloche hat with a beautiful cream colored ribbon. The light grey of the hat went perfectly with Alice's blonde curls and blue eyes. Alice's exclamation of joy at seeing the hat made the Hatter almost want to futterwacken.

"So you like it then?" The Hatter asked while nervously wringing his hands.

"Like it? Hatter it's the most wonderful hat I've ever seen!" Alice exclaimed.

"Would you let me to put it on you then?" The Hatter asked somewhat proudly.

"I would be honored," Alice said softly. As he lowered the hat onto her head he suddenly realized that they were standing very close. So close, in fact, that the Hatter could feel her warm breath on his neck and it made him shiver. He wondered if she would let him kiss her again. She had let him before, hadn't she? He leaned in slowly and Alice closed her eyes.

"Hello, Tarrant," purred Chessur from the doorway. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything. Oh! What a lovely hat you're wearing, Alice."

The Mad Hatter very nearly threw the hat box at Chessur. Oh that blasted cat! "What is it you need, Chess?" Hatter asked impatiently while still looking at Alice, who was now the color of a tomato and staring pointedly at her feet.

"Oh I just came here to inform both of you that the Queen is throwing a ball in your honor tonight."

"Great. Thank you for that. But don't you have other things to do? Other places to be? A ball of string to play with? Mice to chase somewhere? You know...other than here?" Hatter rambled anxiously.

The grin that crossed Chessur's face was somehow more aggravating to the Hatter than usual.

"A ball?" Alice queried thoughtfully. "I don't think I have any dresses that would be suitable."

"Oh, don't fret dear," Chessur purred. "I'm sure the Queen will have something made for you before tonight. After all everyone assumes you will be attending with Tarrant and he _has_ to go. Promised me he'd futterwacken, you know." And with that Chessur and his infuriating grin disappeared.

"Blasted cat," Hatter mumbled to himself. "Mischievous menace." He shook his head in frustration. Sometimes when his emotions were too strong it could cause him to have episodes of madness that could be violent. He took a couple of steps back and took a deep breath to calm himself before his madness took hold.

Alice sighed and he looked down into her eyes. That hat really looked quite fetching on her and it was making his heart flutter in a strange, but not altogether unpleasant, way.

"Hatter?" Alice called softly. "Hmm?" He answered distractedly.

"Your name is Tarrant?"

"What? Oh yes, Tarrant Hightopp is my name, but everyone just calls me the Mad Hatter mostly, as you've noticed. Because I am one. A hatter that is. And I'm quite mad. Or so they tell me."

"Oh." Alice said frowning.

"What's wrong, Alice?"

Alice sat beside him on the workbench and sighed. "It's just that I don't really know anything about you. Except that you're a hatter, and you're a little mad, and I just learned your name is Tarrant Hightopp."

"Oh, is that all? Well what would you like to know, dear Alice?"

And so the two sat on the bench in Hatter's workshop telling each other things about themselves. Hatter having forgotten his earlier worries for the moment, due to his short attention span. Well, at least they did this until Nivens came in with his pocket watch and informed them that if they didn't move quickly they were going to be "very, very late" for the ball.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Lowell in Wonderland

Disclaimer-I do not own or have any rights to Alice in Wonderland, any of the characters, etc. Oh, and I am not making any money off of this.

Review, please! I need the feedback to help improve my story. You never know, I might use some of your ideas in a later chapter (as I haven't finished this story yet).

* * *

Now as it turns out, while all of the adventures in Underland were going on, Alice's friends and family were starting to worry over her absence. It had been several hours since Alice had run off into the garden "for a moment to think" as she had called it, and Hamish was not a patient man. In fact, he was a very whiny man who was starting to complain ever so loudly that someone should go and find her. And not surprisingly, after a few moments his mother had joined his tirade and she was the type of woman who always got her way. So Alice's mother was sent into the garden to try and talk some sense into the girl. However, after searching for nearly twenty minutes and calling rather loudly, Alice was nowhere to be found. It was determined that a search party should be formed to find the missing girl, although Hamish and Lady Ascot were both loudly proclaiming to anyone who would listen that there was no reason as "it was obvious the girl had finally gone mad and run away."

It was most unfortunate for Alice and Underland that during the search it was Lowell who found part of Alice's ripped dress near the whole at the base of the tree. It was also unfortunate that Lowell, having leaned over far into the hole to look for what he hoped were the remains of Alice, (as it would be more beneficial to Lowell if she were to be dead) leaned a bit too far and wound up falling down the hole just as Alice had done earlier.

The reason it was so unfortunate that Lowell fell down the rabbit hole had to do with two things: one, the fact that Alice was blackmailing him after finding him cheating on her sister and two, Lowell Manchester was only ever good at about three things: lying, cheating, and getting away with just about whatever he wanted. He had grown up in wealth but had gambled most of it away before he was 21, which was one of the reasons why he had married Margaret. Margaret had plenty of money, due to her father's vision and creativity with his ideas about overseas trade routes. Of course, Lowell could have cared less about her father's ingenuity. The money was all he really cared about, well almost anyway. He also thought Margaret good looking, even if in his opinion she was boring at the best of times and he thought her sister Alice was a meddlesome brat. Alice. It was her fault he was falling down this hole in the first place, he thought, and he had just about had it. He had already been whacked in the face with a book and hit his head on a bedpost on the way down, and still there was no end in sight. Just as he thought things couldn't get any worse, a piano came flying out of nowhere and he was knocked out cold.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Alice in Wonderland, any of its characters, places, etc. I am also not making any money off of this.

Hope you guys like this chapter, it's a little longer! Thank you to the people who have reviewed so far! I really appreciate it! :)

* * *

Chapter 5: Tweedles in Trouble

There are things a person feels when waking up from unconsciousness: dizziness, nausea, disorientation. Of course, the disorientation one feels when waking up from unconsciousness in Underland is similar to this-only multiplied by about one hundred, which Lowell soon found out. After surveying his surroundings, he realized he was in a strange room with many doors. Randomly selecting one, he tried the knob and found it to be locked, as were all the others. After trying a few more times to open them with no luck, he sat on the floor to think.

Now at this point in _her_ adventure Alice had already found the small door and had drank the potion on the table. But Lowell, not being very imaginative like Alice, never thought to try the little door, nor did he notice the potion on the table. And since Lowell wasn't brave like Alice either, he began to wonder as to whether or not he would ever get out of the little room of doors. And the more he wondered, the more he worried. And the more he worried, the more panicked he became. So since he wasn't brave or imaginative, he did the only thing he could think of. He started screaming.

Normally no one would have been around to hear him, especially since Alice had been the only one down the rabbit hole in ages and she was currently in Marmoreal, but on this day two twins had been sent out to deliver ball invitations and happened to hear the racket.

"What's that?" "Who's there?" The Tweedle brothers said simultaneously. Holding hands they cautiously inched forward up the steps until they were almost to the tiny door.

"Nobody's been in there since Alice," stated Tweedledee nervously.

"Alice ain't in there if she's at Marmoreal," replied Tweedledum.

Somehow Lowell managed to hear their voices over his shouting and cried, "Hey! Is there someone out there? I'm stuck in here!"

"Didn't you try the key, then?"

"Did you drink the potion?"

Lowell who was very frustrated at this point screamed, "What in the blazes are you talking about?"

"The key! "

"The potion!"

Looking around the tiny room, Lowell finally managed to spot the potion and tiny key on the table. He still had no idea how either of them would help him, since he had yet to see the tiny door. "What is in this and will it do to me if I drink it?" He asked suspiciously.

"Pishalver!"

"It shrinks!"

"Shrinks what?" Lowell asked nervously. But the twins were currently giving him new instructions that he had to strain to listen to because their words kept running together.

"...the lil' key fits into the lil' door and..."

"You'll be teeny enough to get..."

"Wait, wait!" Lowell protested. He was thoroughly confused by this point. Were these people trying to tell him that this potion would shrink _him_? Impossible. He had never heard such madness. "Are you trying to tell me that this potion will make _me_ shrink?" He asked incredulously.

"Aye," both Tweedles said with an affirmative nod.

He scoffed at the idea. The very nerve of those pranksters. Here he was stuck in a room and they were playing around! He swore to himself if he got out of the room he would make them pay. "Go away!" Lowell roared. "If that's all the help you will be, then I don't need you here!"

The Tweedle brothers exchanged a look, but went on their way. Who were they to argue with this strange person? And anyway, they had ball invitations to deliver for Queen Mirana.

Lowell, however was still fuming behind the door. "How dare they?!" He cried and sat down on the floor again. He was exhausted from this entire ordeal and the bump on his head was starting to throb painfully. He had been staring at one particular door for sometime when he realized it looked very old and worn down. Suddenly he had an idea. With all of his remaining strength, he picked up the table in the center of the room and hurled it at the old door.

The door splintered into thousands of pieces. Lowell smirked to himself as he walked forward to see his handiwork. Looking out the door he saw something quite unbelievable. Beginning at the base of the door and continuing on until far in the distance was what appeared to be a lake or pond. He took a few minutes to decide, but in the end he realized he would rather swim than spend another moment in the room of doors. So Lowell dived from the door and into the water, only to realize when he surfaced that what he was swimming in seemed to be salt water.

"A flying piano, a room of locked doors, meddlesome pranksters, and now a sea where it shouldn't be," Lowell mused aloud to himself as he swam. "This is a horrible place! But perhaps if I have had this much trouble, Alice might have had worse." The thought cheered him up a bit.

After swimming for some while, he finally came to the bank where he laid down to rest for a moment. To his great aggravation his clothes were completely ruined. Shaking himself off he stood and had a look around. Deciding he needed to take out some of his anger on something, he kicked at a squirrel that was on a log near his feet. He missed, naturally, as squirrels are agile and fast creatures, and landed flat on his back in the mud. The squirrel who was quite offended and angry shouted, "Serves you right you great brute!" and promptly ran away. Lowell stared at the place the squirrel had been for about three seconds and then quietly fainted.

He awoke to the feeling of being poked. When he opened his eyes he saw two short, bald twins standing above him, poking him with sticks.

"What are you doing?!" Lowell cried as he rose from the ground. "Have you no manners at all?"

"We thought you was dead," Tweedledee replied, looking a little ashamed and embarrassed.

"Wait a minute!" Lowell cried with sudden realization. "I know your voice! You two were the pranksters outside the door!"

The Tweedles looked at each other a moment and then both started speaking quickly to each other.

"He ain't!"

"Couldn't be!"

"Could be."

"Might."

"Shut up!" Lowell shouted, causing the Tweedles to jump with fright. "You two are going to pay for making jokes while I was stuck locked in that room!" As he advanced on them, the Tweedles suddenly realized that this man wanted to do them harm and they fled into the forest as fast as their little legs could carry them. That however, was obviously not fast enough considering that Lowell caught up to them in a matter of seconds. "Now," Lowell growled. "What would be a fitting punishment for the two of you making jokes while I was locked in that room where I could have died?"

"We wasn't making no jokes!" Tweedledum cried as he squirmed in Lowells grip.

"You told us to go, so we went!" Tweedledee tremblingly muttered.

"Shut up!" Lowell shouted again. "I think I should hang you both high in this tree where you can't get free and see how you both like it!" And the more he thought it the more he liked the idea. After using his shoelaces and his cravat to tie Tweedledee to the tree trunk, he climbed up the tree as high as he could with Tweedledum and used his suspenders to latch him to the tree trunk and branches. He was climbing down the tree to do the same to Tweedledee when he noticed the empty space where he was supposed to be tied. He had gotten free!

"ARGH!" Lowell cried. "You just wait! When I find you, and I promise you I will, you will meet the same fate as your brother! Or worse!" Upon screaming his frustrations he stormed out of the forest to try and find someone who could tell him how to get home.

Tweedledum, on the other hand, was currently at the top of the tree crying his little heart out. Not only was he tied to the top of a tree, but he was also all alone for the first time in years without his brother.

"Alice!" Tweedledum cried in desperation, even though he knew she was in Marmoreal.

Lowell froze on the spot and quickly marched back to the tree. "What did you say?"

"Alice will save me!" Tweedledum cried. "She is _the_ Alice, and bullies like you don't scare her!"

"Is that right?" Lowell said slowly to himself. "Well we will see about that won't we?"

"And anyway, if she's been helping _you,_ then I have even more reason to hate her." He said viciously as he walked away into the forest.

* * *

Evil Lowell! Duh duh duh.....Make sure and review! Please? Pretty please?? I need feedback people!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Alice in Wonderland, any characters, places, etc. I am not making money off of this...

Review please! I really appreciate your feedback! And speaking of good feedback, thank you to all who reviewed last time! You guys are great!

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I have been sick and didn't feel like writing! Bleh. But I'm back now.... so let's get on with the show! :)

* * *

Chapter Six: Squirrels and Jubjub birds

An hour before the ball was to begin, Alice could be found worriedly pacing the floor of her large room in Marmoreal. She couldn't help but be a little nervous. After Nivens had gone from the hat workshop, the Hatter had made it a point to _formally_ ask her to the ball, even though everyone was expecting them to go together anyway. She had thought it a nice gesture at the time. Now she was worrying over every tiny detail. Would the dress the Queen was having made for her match the hat Tarrant had made for her? Would it fit her properly? Would she recognize any of the dances or music? She knew she was being silly. She had fought a jabberwocky for goodness sakes! Where had her muchness gone? Tarrant would be ashamed of her. _Tarrant._ She sighed dreamily and resumed pacing the floors with worry.

For a kingdom of people that were supposed to be celebrating, they were certainly having a difficult time with it. It seemed almost everyone was worried about something or other. Because while Alice was busy worrying about impressing the Hatter, the Hatter was worried about impressing Alice, the White Queen was worried about her sister and the Knave, the Knave was worried he would have to kill himself to be rid of Iracebeth's whining, Nivens was worried everyone would be late to the ball, and the March Hare was worried that the spoon he had been staring at for the past few minutes was starting to look awfully suspicious.

But there were two people in Underland who had more cause to worry than anyone. Two brothers who had spent every moment of their lives together were now having to learn how to survive without each other. And neither was doing a very good job. Tweedledee was having an easier time with it than Tweedledum, however.

In the forest next to the pool of tears, a jubjub bird circled hungrily above a large tree where one half of the duo was tied. Being tied to the tree made him easy prey for such a large bird and unfortunately for Tweedledum his yelling and frantic thrashing only further excited the ruthless bird. Closing his eyes, Tweedledum wished that someone would hear him and save him from being eaten. As he opened them all he saw were beady red eyes and he screamed with all his might.

And at that exact moment a squirrel, dressed in a white tabard and brown cavalier hat, happened to be scurrying across the forest floor, and heard the pitiful wail. Looking up into the tree, he saw the jubjub bird getting closer to a large round boy who seemed to be stuck in the tree. Immediately jumping into action, the squirrel scrambled up the tree with ease and threw an acorn at the bird. Now normally a thing as small as an acorn wouldn't have hurt the bird, but this squirrel was not your ordinary run of the mill squirrel. With perfect aim and precision the little squirrel sent the acorn flying right into the beady eye of the jubjub bird causing it to take to the sky in an attempt to recover. He knew he had little time to help this boy and set about chewing through the suspenders that were holding Tweedledum to the branches. Tweedledum was nearly crying in relief.

"Thank you, Mr. squirrel!" Tweedledum managed to choke out. "I thought I was a goner!"

"We aren't out of this mess yet," the squirrel replied. But it came out as "Wern't ouaf thisms et" due to the fact that he was still trying to chew through the suspenders. And as if on cue, the jubjub bird was back and angrier than ever. Swooping own dangerously, its claws came within inches of Tweedledum's face. Suddenly one side of the suspenders broke free and Tweedledum was able to slip the other parts off.

"Hurry!" cried the squirrel, as he scampered down the tree easily.

Tweedledum, however, had tiny limbs that were not meant for climbing, and it was very difficult for him to stretch his legs out to reach the branches on the way down. The jubjub bird, seeing this, dived at him and let out a piercing screech. There were only two options for Tweedledum. Let go of the branch and fall, or hang on and be eaten. He let go...and fell six feet to the ground, where he landed painfully on his right leg--shattering the bones.

The squirrel rushed over to Tweedledum only to find he had passed out from pain, leaving the squirrel to fend off the ferocious bird. Gathering his courage – and his acorns — he stared down the great carnivorous bird as it landed about three feet away. He waited patiently for the right moment, knowing he would only have one chance. The great bird let out a terrible shriek as it attacked. Taking the opportunity, the little squirrel took aim and let the acorn fly. The jubjub bird's wail was suddenly cut off as the acorn lodged in its throat. It thrashed around on the ground for only a few moments before it attempted to gasp its last breath and then was still. The brave little squirrel rushed over to the large round boy. He really didn't want to leave him in this part of the forest at night. He knew he would have to get help.

* * *

In another part of the forest, the other Tweedle was running as fast as his little legs would carry him to Marmoreal. Which, unfortunately for him, was not very fast at all. He was so very tired and wanted to rest, but the thought of his brother alone in the tree made him keep going. He desperately hoped Alice would know what to do.

Alice was desperately hoping the dress that had just arrived would fit her. It was a beautiful cream color that went perfectly with her new hat. She found herself thinking that Tarrant would be pleased. What she didn't know was that the Hatter had asked that the dress be that color in hopes she would wear his hat to the ball. After trying it on and finding that it fit her perfectly she put on her new hat and looked in the mirror. She thought she looked nice, but she still worried about what everyone else would think. "Everyone else" meaning Tarrant. Over the past few days she had found herself developing feelings for him and wondering if he felt the same. He had kissed her after all. And from what she could tell in the workshop earlier it seemed he wanted to again. She thought that had to mean something. But sorting out feelings is never an easy process and Alice had the feeling it was going to be a very long night.

* * *

At twilight a lone figure could be seen trudging toward Marmoreal. Well it appeared he was trudging, but he was actually running as fast as he could – his legs were just too short to move quickly. He could hear music and laughter coming form the main hall and remembered the ball. He and Tweedledum had been passing out invitations to it earlier. At the thought of his brother, he made a last effort to speed up and pushed his way into the hall. When he entered, the only people in the hall at that moment were the servants and hired workers who were making sure everything was in order and set up. He gave a pitiful cry and sat on the floor. He had hoped to see Alice immediately and now it seemed he would have to wait. One of the maids saw him and patted him on the back soothingly. She recognized him as one of the Tweedles and inquired about his brother. At this Tweedledee cried harder and the maid knew something had happened. Rushing off, she went to fetch the White Queen to help the poor dear.

A knock on the door interrupted Queen Mirana as she was getting ready for the ball.

"My lady." The maid curtsied politely and waited for the Queen to address her.

"How may I help you?" The Queen inquired.

"One of the Tweedle brothers is downstairs in the main hall and seems to be quite upset. When I asked about where his brother was he very nearly broke down into sobs," the maid said sadly.

"Oh, my," the Queen whispered thoughtfully. "Take me to him at once!"

The two made their way into the great hall, which was now empty except for one little round body lying in the middle of the dance floor. The Queen immediately rushed to his side in order to comfort him, but it seemed there was no consoling him.

"Please tell me what happened," She asked him gently.

"...*sniffle*...'Dum an' I were passin' out invitations, just like you asked...an' this man was in the room of doors...an' we left him there 'cuz he was angry...an' later we poked him with sticks...an' he tied 'Dum to a tree!" And with that poor Tweedledee again broke into sobs.

"A man in the room of doors?" The Queen shot to her feet gracefully. "What can this mean?"

"Bring me the oraculum!" She told the maid.

After patting Tweedledee's back for a few minutes and telling him his brother would be alright, he seemed to calm down enough to give a more accurate description of what happened. The Queen realized as she listened that she might have more to worry about than her sister and the Knave. And according to the oraculum, she was right.

"Please fetch Alice for me," she told a servant. "We are in need of her help once again."

* * *

Review, please!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Alice in Wonderland, any of the characters, places, etc. I am not making money off of this...

Hey guys! Told you I would be updating more often! A little longer chapter this time! Hope you like it!

I really do appreciate all of your feedback and comments! Keep reviewing, please!

* * *

Chapter 7: Lowell's Leverage

A knock on her door interrupted Alice's nervous pacing. Thinking it was Tarrant, she smoothed her dress and looked herself over one more time in the mirror before answering the door. However, upon opening the door she looked out to find no one there. At least that was what she thought until she heard a loud sniffle and looked down. Staring up at her was a one of the Tweedles, who looked as if his heart was breaking. She wasn't exactly the hugging type, and could probably count on her hands how many people she had hugged in her life, but on instinct she reached down and took the little boy into her arms. He immediately started rambling about a man, a tree and something about his brother being in trouble. Knowing that the White Queen must know what was going on if he had found his way to her room, she set him down on the floor and told him to wait for her there. He nodded sadly as she raced back into her room for parchment and a quill. She wrote a short note to the Hatter explaining where she had gone and then used a string to tie it to the door knob. Then, taking Tweedledee's hand, the two of them made their way back to the White Queen to find out exactly what was going on.

Upon entering the room, Alice saw Queen Mirana standing next to a table set up at the far end of the room. As she got closer, Alice recognized the object the Queen seemed to be looking at – the oraculum. She was starting to hate that scroll.

"Your Majesty," Alice began anxiously.

The Queen looked up at her with a frown. "Ah, Alice, please come have a look at this."

"Tweedledee said his brother was in some kind of trouble?" She asked upon reaching the table.

"I'm afraid so," the Queen began. "Here...look for yourself."

Alice looked at the scroll, hardly believing what her eyes were seeing. "Lowell?"

* * *

Lowell was quite certain he had gone crazy. He was sure that he had been hallucinating for some time now. Since he had fallen down that hole at the base of the tree, he had felt more delusional than Margaret's aunt, Imogene. He figured he must have hit his head rather hard. It had all started when he imagined that squirrel had yelled at him, and now the flowers seemed to be whispering to each other as he walked past. Yes, he had to have gone mad. And he was certain it was completely Alice's fault.

There had never been any signs of madness in his family. Not one. Completely sane and normal, the lot of them. Oh, but then he had to go and marry Margaret. What a mistake that was! He should have listened to everyone when they told him about her crazy family. Everyone knew that they were all strange and out of sorts. Her aunt, her father, her little sister. They were all out of their minds! He should have known better than to have dealings with them, regardless of their wealth. Now he was walking around hearing talking squirrels and flowers! Oh someone was going to pay for this!

Suddenly, a large blue butterfly fluttered around his head and it seemed to be laughing at him. But the logical part of Lowell's brain told him that butterflies do not laugh, so he kept on walking – pretending he couldn't hear it. Of course, like all his other delusions, it then began speaking to him. He was determined to ignore this too, until it insulted him.

Craning his neck around quickly he growled in a menacing tone, "What did you just call me?"

"I _said_, 'You don't belong here, you simpleminded twit,'" Absolem stated calmly.

"Simpleminded twit, am I?!" Lowell shouted. "I've had just about enough of this place! I'll show you simpleminded!"

And with that said he set about trying to crush the butterfly, only to have it flutter away and escape his grasp every time. "Argh!" Lowell shouted in fury, as he once again tried to crush the butterfly and missed, tripping on an upturned rock and falling flat on his face.

"Well, as amusing as this is," Absolem began, "I originally only came here to tell you that you do not belong here and need to leave, **immediately**."

"Gladly!" Lowell shouted. "Just point me in the right direction!"

"I'm afraid that won't be quite so easy."

"Oh, Of course not!" Lowell said sarcastically. "I mean, I've only fallen down a hole, been hit with a piano, been locked in a room and humiliated, swam a lake, been yelled at by a squirrel, poked with sticks, and been insulted by a butterfly! Why should it start being easy now?!"

"You know, people from Aboveground certainly are whiny."

"Aboveground? What in the _world_ are you talking about?!

"Exactly that."

"What? Exactly what?"  
"Stupid, too."

"Stop insulting me!"

"I'm only being honest. And after all, I was nice enough all those times when Alice asked annoying questions. After all these years, I've quite lost any patience I have left."

"Alice?" Lowell said, suddenly interested. "What does she have to do with any of this?"

"Everything."

"Would you stop being so cryptic and answer my questions?!"

"Fine, since it seems I won't get rid of you any other way, I suppose I could tell you a little something....First you have to realize that Alice has been here two times now-"

"Two?!"

"Don't interrupt! ...Now where was I...oh yes, Alice has helped us a great deal and she is quite a hero to all of us-" At this Lowell scoffed and felt laughing aloud.

"-and in turn she considers us almost like family. We understand her eccentricities better than your kind, you see."

"I'm sure your right about the eccentricities part."

"What did I say about interrupting?! Do you want me to help you or no?!"

"Yes, yes, continue butterfly," Lowell said rudely.

"My name is Absolem, thank you. Now because of your actions regarding Tweedledum,-"

"Who?"

"Tweedledum! The boy you tied to a tree? Sound familiar?!"

"Oh, that little nuisance! Good riddance, I say! Did something terrible happen to him?" Lowell asked a little too eagerly.

If butterflies could glare at someone, Absolem would have been doing it at that moment. Certainly he had never really befriended the twins, but they were innocent and gentle and did not deserve the misfortune Lowell had caused them. "No _fortunately_, he was rescued."

"Hmmph."

"And so, as I was saying, it will now be more difficult for you to return Above, as there are those who would want you punished for your actions."

"Punished?! What about all the things that have happened to me? Will someone be punished for that?"

"I am quite sure that the misfortune you speak of can be attributed to none other than yourself. "_**And**__--" _Absolem emphasised when he saw that Lowell intended to interrupt, yet again_--_ "if you keep carrying on this way, I will have no other choice than to hand you over to the Queen and let her decide your fate. Now I will tell you where to find a portal home, but you must act quickly."

"A... portal?"

"Yes you imbecile, a portal!" Absolem took a deep breath to keep from losing his patience. "...Now you must go to the White Queen's castle at Marmoreal. Inside the castle is a room of mirrors. One of them will transport you back to your home. It will look like any other mirror, but you will be able to see your home through it if you look correctly. You must walk through it as if it is made of nothing but air. And remember you must try to avoid speaking to anyone. Try to be as inconspicuous as possible."

"Walk through a mirror? I mean sure, that sounds perfectly logical!" Lowell cried. "....Wait...Why are you trying to help me anyway?" He was suddenly very suspicious of this odd butterfly. What if it was leading him into a trap?

"I honestly agree with the others that you do deserve to be punished, but...I think Underland has seen enough bloodshed these past few years, and I am merely trying to avoid more of it," Absolem said in a bored voice. "Now, if you don't mind, I think I have done my good deed for the_century_ and I will be on my way."

"Wait! How do I get to this Marmoreal place?"

"Keep going straight and once you reach the Tulgey Wood, you should be able to see the towers of the castle in the distance. ...And finally, as you so eloquently said earlier...Good riddance!"

And with that the large blue butterfly flew away in the opposite direction.

"...Alice a hero, he says...Punished for my actions, he says....Walk through a mirror, he says...Hmmph. Bloody rubbish!" Lowell continued on as he was told however, seeing as though he didn't have any other options. Rubbing the side of his face where he had landed in the dirt, he continued grumbling and complaining until he was far in the distance.

* * *

Alice was completely speechless. Why on earth would Lowell come to Underland? Surely he hadn't come looking for her? He hated her! His time in Underland certainly hadn'timproved his character any. She watched horrified as the oraculum showed him tying Tweedledum to the tree where a jubjub bird later attacked him. He was acting even worse, if anything!

At that moment the Hatter came into the room; he had obviously read her note. A frown graced his usually smiling face and his eyes were slightly more yellow than green. As he reached the table the Queen filled him in on what they knew so far.

"It's good you're here Tarrant," the Queen began. "We will more than likely be needing your help, as well as Alice's, once again."

At hearing this, the Hatter's eyes suddenly turned a bright shade of orange and he began yelling in his deep accent, "Downal wyth the Bluddy Begh Hid!" And then proceeded to start yelling foul words in Outlandish until Alice shouted, "Tarrant!" causing him to jump and reply "Sorry! I'm fine!"

"It isn't Iracebeth and Stayne this time, Tarrant," replied the White Queen. "Unfortunately from what I've come to understand, it is someone Alice knows from Aboveground who is causing all the trouble."

Alice sighed and set about explaining her relationship with her brother-in-law, and why he was wrecking such havoc on Underland and its inhabitants.

"It's me, you see," Alice began.

"Me, See! Alice you've made a rhyme!" The Hatter spoke up, but after a stern look from Mirana, he quieted looking a bit ashamed of himself.

"Yes, thank you Tarrant," Alice smiled at him gently. "But as I was saying, it is my fault he is here and causing so many problems. We need to get him out of Underland immediately before he causes any more damage."

"Well Alice, I wish it were that simple, but Lowell did cause Tweedledee and Tweedledum quite a bit of misery. I think he should be punished for that," replied Mirana.

"Couldn't we just send him back?" Alice asked anxiously. "I'm afraid he'll do something dreadful. He has no concern for the well-being of others and is extremely selfish. I'm worried that if he stays here much longer he will find a way to use it to his advantage."

"Well first we just need to find him," said Mirana gently. "Then we can decide what to do with him. I will send out my best soldiers immediately."

And somewhere outside the Tulgey Wood, the very man mentioned was pondering whether or not he should leave without giving a _proper_ goodbye to Alice. After all, he did owe her for this_ lovely_ trip. He found himself thinking that maybe blackmail could work for him just as it had for her. He realized he now had just enough leverage to get exactly what he wanted. And that was everything.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Alice in Wonderland, its characters, places, etc. I am not making money off of this.

So, I think I confused some of you guys with the last chapter. To clear things up, Lowell's leverage is Underland and its inhabitants. He is going to try to hurt, manipulate, and/or brainwash the people there just to hurt Alice and get the things he wants.

Also, a few of you mentioned adding new characters (Uilleam the Dodo, was suggested by most) and I don't see why not, so he will be showing up in the next few chapters. See how good it is when you review!

Okay, so I had no idea how to write the Hatter's accent when he is angry/distressed, but it sounds Scottish to me so I used a translator online. If it sounds silly to you, I'm sorry. I tried to make it as accurate as possible.

Alice/Hatter fluffy goodness in this chapter! :)

Thanks for all of your helpful comments and feedback! Keep reviewing, please!

Chapter 8: Hatter will be late for a very important date!

After Queen Mirana had ordered a few of her best soldiers to find Lowell and Tweedledum, Alice had wandered out onto the balcony overlooking Marmoreal for a moment to think. The more time she spent thinking however, the more she felt guilty over everything that was happening. If it wasn't for her, Lowell would have never even come to Underland in the first place and Tweedledum would not be hurt. She unknowingly started pacing in her frustration and began muttering to herself.

She looked up as she heard the Hatter's silly laugh. "Keep that up and people will think you are as mad as me!"

She couldn't help but laugh with him. He was right. If she kept on blaming herself and running around in circles she probably would go mad. Well, _madder_ anyway. She sighed and leaned against the balcony railing. How many days had it been since they had last stood together like this? Two, three? Somehow, it felt like ages. The Hatter stood next to her and looked at her questioningly.

Alice sighed loudly before saying, "I just feel so frustrated, Tarrant. I mean, we just finished fighting against the Red Queen and now Lowell comes along causing trouble. What if he hurts someone else? I feel like this is my fault." She bowed her head against her arms on the balcony rail.

Tarrant's eyes flashed bright orange before he took Alice in his arms and hugged her to him tightly. "Sweet Alice, brave Alice...Mirana's soldiers will fin' 'im suin an' return 'im to tha Abovegroun' whaur he belongs. An' if he won' go, we can always chain 'im tae the Bluddy Behg Hed an' Stayne. They would get alang famoosly, I think! Or they micht kill each other...but either way thaur is naethin' tae worry abot!" He said in his deep brogue.

Alice laughed softly and snuggled in closer to his chest. She heard Tarrant sigh and felt his arms wrap more tightly around her. Alice's heart pounded furiously in her chest as she debated whether or not it was the right time to ask him about the kiss they had shared on the battlefield. Just as she was about to look up at him to ask, she felt his hands move on her back. She gasped softly as his fingers slowly ran up and down her back in what would appear to be a soothing gesture. But to Alice it was anything but relaxing. She found herself trembling under his soft caresses and she suddenly felt flushed and curiously warm all over.

One of Tarrant's hands left her back, raising her chin so that he could meet her eyes. Alice blushed furiously, but didn't look away. She noticed his eyes were a very dark shade of purple, almost black, before he closed them and leaned in to lightly brush his lips with hers.

This kiss was different from the last they had shared. Unlike the one on the battlefield that had been rushed and a bit rough, this kiss was gentle and slow. Alice's hands, which had previously been around the Hatter's waist, found their way up into his unruly orange hair. Later, when she was once again able to form a coherent thought, she would think back to how soft it was, but at the moment all she could think about was the wonderful humming sound he made as she ran her hands through it and how amazing his lips felt against hers.

They pulled away slowly, both looking at each other as if they couldn't believe what had just happened. Suddenly they both started grinning at each other and couldn't seem to stop. Alice had never felt anything like what Tarrant made her feel. She giggled as he started murmuring to himself. "...marvelous, magnificent, melodious, maddening, magical, momentous, miraculous-"

"Hatter!"

"I'm fine."

Alice put her head back on Tarrant's chest and he ran his fingers through her long hair.

"Would you like to have tea with me tomorrow?" the Hatter inquired softly.

"Don't we always have tea together?" replied Alice.

"I mean tea with me. Not with Thackery, Mally, or Chess. Just me."

"Won't we need a chaperone?"

"For tea?"

"Where I used to live things were different. When men came to call on women there always had to be a chaperone."

"We don't have one right now," the Hatter pointed out.

"Oh! I suppose we don't." Alice blushed, thinking about what her mother would say if she could see her now. "Yes, Tarrant. I would love to have tea with you."

The Hatter beamed. "It's a date!"

After her talk (and kiss) with the Hatter, Alice realized that all of her worrying had made her rather tired and both she and the Hatter decided they would both go to bed. After all, there was no sense in worrying over what _might_ happen tomorrow. She would deal with Lowell when the time came, but until then she would continue to enjoy her time in Underland – and with Tarrant.

Lowell woke as the first rays of sun peaked over the horizon. Groaning in discomfort, he lifted himself up from his uncomfortable bed of rocks and dirt somewhere deep in the woods. His stomach growled and he realized it had been nearly two days since he had eaten anything. After dealing with talking flowers and animals, he wasn't sure what was safe to eat.

"I better get some kind of feast when I get home! And then after I've gotten settled again I will make sure that this place and all that inhabit it are destroyed if it's the last thing I do! After dealing with this awful place, I should certainly be proclaimed some sort of national hero!" Lowell mumbled to himself.

Lowell continued on through the forest in what he thought was the direction to the castle. Unfortunately, he was unaware that he had been traveling for miles in the wrong direction. While he was busy checking the angle of the sun to determine the time he failed to notice he was coming to the edge of a steep cliff. Once he finally looked back down at his surroundings he tried to catch himself, but the loose rocks on the edge of the cliff rolled under his feet causing him to go hurtling over the edge. Luckily the side of the cliff was relatively smooth and he was not too badly harmed on the way down. Unluckily, however, he happened to end up rolling right into the Gummer Slough.

The Gummer Slough was an extremely dangerous swamp of thick, disgusting mud. It was the home of some of Underland's most dangerous creatures. And Lowell Manchester was standing right in the middle of it.

"UGH!" Lowell screamed. "I absolutely loathe this terrible place!"

"Well, I can't say that I blame you. Gummer Slough really is pretty awful, but if you hate it so much why are you standing in it?" asked a voice to his left.

"Who said that?" Lowell cried.

"Over here," waved a large bird. "I'm guessing that you aren't in this swamp by choice?"

Lowell stared at the large bird for awhile before realized he wasn't all that surprised by anything he saw here anymore. He shrugged and replied, "Of course I'm not! Who would be foolish enough to want to be here on purpose?"

"Well I suppose I am. I am meeting some friends here."

"Why ever would you do that?"

"Well you see we play games on Quillian day and we meet here because during the Red Queen's reign it was the only place we could meet where she wouldn't look for us."

"Games?" Lowell snorted. "What sort of games could you play in a disgusting swamp? No! No…forget that I asked. I don't care! Just would you tell me how to get to the White Queen's castle in a place called Marmoreal?"

"Certainly, good sir!" cried the bird. "I will escort you there myself!

Remembering what the butterfly had told him about being punished, he quickly replied "No! No, that will not be necessary. I can find it myself if you just show me the way."

"Well…if you're sure..." the bird said hesitantly.

"Yes, yes." Lowell said impatiently. "Now show me the way, bird!"

"Actually, my name is Ullieam."

"Whatever! Show me the way, Ullieam!"

"You could say please. It would be the polite thing to do."

"If you don't show me the way to Marmoreal right now, I will drown you in this foul smelling swamp!"

"Well! I've haven't been spoken to in such a manner since I last saw the Red Queen! You are a terrible man!" With this comment Ullieam intended to walk away, but a strong hand wrapped around his throat.

Lowell growled menacingly. "I have had about enough of you and these other fairytale creatures! If you don't tell me the way, I swear I will hold you here until all your friends get here and I will make all of you suffer!"

Ullieam swallowed nervously and used his wing to point the direction. Lowell threw the bird down into the swamp and marched off in the direction he had pointed.

Meanwhile, back in the castle at Marmoreal, a nervous and fidgeting Hatter was making sure everything was perfect for his and Alice's tea. He had had Thackery prepare some pastries, muffins, and scones and Mallymkun had helped him set the table. He had been quick to usher them both out of the room however, telling their disappointed faces that only Alice was invited and that he would have another tea for them later.

To help ease his nervousness he began listing the items on the table. "Cream, cups, chairs...Milk, muffins, margarine…Scones, spoons, sugar…Tea, tarts, table…"

A call of "Tarrant!" brought him back to the present.

"I'm fine!" he replied quickly.

"Well, well, well…teatime for you and Alice….how romantic," Chessur purred from his perch next to Tarrants chair.

"It's none of your business, Chess, and it happens to be a _private_ tea that you are _not_ invited to."

"Honestly! You would think I could stop by to help you and give you advice without you being so rude!"

"Advice? Help? Help with what?"

"Well if you must know, I overheard a conversation this morning between Alice and Absolem. One of the perks of being able to be invisible, you see."

"If Alice wants to tell me about her conversation that is her business. It isn't right for you to go around gossiping about it," the Hatter said narrowing his now orange eyes.

"Hmm…well I thought you liked Alice, but if you are ready to give her up so easily…" Chessur trailed off looking at the Hatter from upside down.

"Wha' ur ye talkin' abot? Aye coorse I loch Alice!…Nae wai', yer only tryin' tae trick meh! Bluddy cat!" And with that he threw a full teapot at the cat, but of course missed and ended up getting tea all over the floor.

Chessur merely reappeared next to his chair and grinned mischievously. "Why ever would I trick you? I like Alice as much as you do. Things are so much fun with her around."

"Fine…what is it you meant by 'ready to give her up so easily'…" The Hatter sighed and tried to calm himself.

"Absolem told Alice that she may have to go back Aboveground with this Lowell fellow and that the portal between worlds might have to be closed - permanently."

"What? No!" Tarrant stood immediately and began pacing and pulling at his wild hair. "Closed permanently? Why?"

"Absolem is worried about the repercussions of having that man Lowell go back Aboveground and tell everyone about us and the portal. He says it could cause another war. One between both of our worlds."

"Repercussions," Tarrant muttered distractedly. "…A war…Alice. Gone. _Forever_."

"I see you're starting to get the idea," Chessur purred. "Now what are you going to do about it?"

Tarrant looked up from his reverie and Chessur flinched. His eyes were a shade of red that the cat had never seen. Apparently the Hatter had grown closer to Alice than even he had realized. Or he was just madder than Chessur realized, and the idea of losing Alice forever had finally sent him over the edge.

"Whaur is he? Lowell?" Tarrant growled.

"Now, Hatter, let's not do anything rash…Besides, how do you know that I know where he is?"

The Hatter snarled and said, "E'en before Absolem, ye always know wen an' whaur something es happenin'. Ye always 'ave."

"True, very true," Chessur said quietly. "…I have to say I don't usually get involved with these sorts of things, but like I said I do like Alice. And you are certainly easier to deal with when she is around…So…Absolem saw him this morning in the Gummer Slough."

With this the Hatter donned his top hat and looked one more time at Chessur. "Tell Alice, I'm sorry tae miss tea, but I had tae tak' caur ay somethin'. An' don' tell 'er naethin' abot Lowell or thes conversation. Ye hear meh?"

"Understood," Chessur purred. "I will make myself scarce for a few days."

"Aye."

And with that the Hatter walked out of the room and headed in the direction of the Gummer Slough.

Uh oh! Angry hatter on the loose! Heehee. Next chapter we find out what happened to Tweedledum!

So please tell me what you think! Please!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Alice in Wonderland, any of its characters, places, etc. I am not making any money from this.

Whoo! Another chapter! Sooooo….REVIEW!

BTW I am making up the creatures in the Gummer Slough. I did not make up the Gummer Slough, however. It is on the map of Underland that was in the original script. If you find the file for the script online you can see it.

I got the Outlandish words from the script also. Slurvish means selfish, nunz means don't go.

It won't let me put in the page breaks, sorry. :( I am using dots, periods to set the paragraphs apart.

Chapter 9: Alice to the rescue (again).

Tweedledum was in pain. His leg was completely smashed and the squirrel, whose name turned out to be Sampras, hadn't been able to do much for it. He volunteered to go get help, but had been gone for almost a day and 'Dum was losing hope. Surely they wouldn't just leave him here? He was propped up against the squirrel's home, a rather large old tree that looked as if it could fall on him at any second. After his fall and the fight with the jubjub bird, he was ready to get out of the forest and never come back in it. The small boy cried into his tiny hands, wishing for someone to come rescue him.

Mirana should have known better than to send royal guards to find Tweedledum and Lowell. They were infinitely slow and took forever to do anything. She should have just sent out Alice, but she had worried about Alice's connections to Lowell. She was afraid that because Lowell was Alice's brother-in-law that she would not want him to be punished and try to help him escape. Mirana was all for forgiveness, but she couldn't have bullies running amok in her queendom. She sighed and told the maid to fetch Alice.

Alice was headed to the kitchens for tea with Tarrant when she was intercepted by a maid who told her the queen needed her assistance. After giving the maid a quick message to give to the Hatter, Alice set off in search of the Queen. It seemed as if she and the Hatter couldn't have a single moment together without it being interrupted. She sighed and entered the Queen's throne room. It seemed she was looking at the oraculum again. Alice absolutely hated that thing. "You asked for me your majesty?"

"Ah, Alice," the White Queen said slowly. "Please, do come here."

"Is something wrong?"

"I'm afraid a great many things have gone wrong since we last spoke."

"But I thought the oraculum already foretold what would happen? How could things have changed so quickly?"

"The oraculum changes when we change. When we make decisions and choices we alter our future and therefore the oraculum has to change to reflect that. It did not change when you fought the jabberwocky, because it knew you would choose to fight the beast when you were sent to us."

"So it knew my choice before I did?"

"Yes, in a way. But sometimes the oraculum cannot always predict certain choices or changes people make," the queen said thoughtfully. "…especially when that person is mad…" she mumbled.

"What? Mad? You mean the Hatter?"

"I'm afraid so. Chessur overheard your chat with Absolem this morning and told Tarrant everything. He is so afraid of losing you that it has made him completely lose his better judgment and reason. He has decided to go after Lowell himself."

"Go after Lowell? Why? What is he going to do?"

"I'm afraid the oraculum is unclear as to that. It seems he can't make up his mind about what to do yet. But I don't think any of his decisions will be good in his current state. Chessur said he had never seen him so upset…"

"What can I do?! I want to help!"

"I knew I could count on you, Alice! First I need you to find Tweedledum. My guards are good at some things, but finding people doesn't seem to be their cup of tea, as it were. Then bring him back here so that I can assess what needs to be done next."

"But what about Hatter? What do we do about him?!"

"Tarrant just set off to find Lowell an hour ago. We have some time before he can reach Lowell on foot and since you will be riding the bandersnatch, you will be able to move about much more quickly."

"I'll leave immediately!"  
And with that Alice fled the room.

............................................................

The Mad Hatter couldn't think straight. Part of his mind was telling him that going after Lowell was a bad idea. Alice would be upset and maybe even a little angry at him. But the larger part of his brain – the mad part - was telling him to get rid of Lowell or he would lose Alice forever. And losing Alice was not an option for him. He had felt the madness take over when he thought she was leaving the last time. He knew that if she had gone back to her world after the battle he would have never been the same. And it was even worse now that he had become even closer with her.

Alice was all he could think about day and night. When he fell asleep and when he woke up in the morning she was ever present in his mind. Most would tell him his obsession with her wasn't healthy, that he was losing his mind over a girl. He giggled madly at the idea. He had already lost his mind. He couldn't lose it again, could he? He would have to ask Alice when he returned. His thoughts turned toward Alice once again. _Alice._ _Alice wearing the hat he made her. Alice kissing him. Alice running her fingers through his hair_. He sighed. She was so lovely.

He didn't really understand why he had fallen in love with her so quickly, but he didn't really care anyway. He loved her and was never letting her go. And if this _Lowell _tried to get in his way – well, he would just have to get rid of him. Looking up at the sky, he noticed the sky seemed to reflect his mood. Stormy, grey. Angry.

.....................................................

Alice entered the Tulgey wood and went in search of the place the oraculum had shown: a large dead tree in a clearing a few miles east of March Hare's home. Finding it with relative ease, she wondered at the intelligence of the Queen's royal guard. Apparently they couldn't take direction or read maps, the poor things.

"Tweedledum!" Alice called loudly.

"Alice? Oh! Alice! I knew you'd come!" Tweedledum cried pitifully.

"Well had I known the guard was having such trouble finding you, I would have come sooner! Are you alright?"

"My leg hurts. Did you fin' Dee?"

"We did. He has been worried sick about you! As have we all!" She gently lifted him up onto the bandersnatch and they headed back for Marmoreal.

"Did Sampras come and fin' you, Alice?

"Sampras? No, I don't think I've talked to anyone with that name…why?"

"He rescued me from the jubjub bird! He's a nice squirrel."

"Well. We will have to find him and thank him for being so brave and looking out for you."

"Can we get to Marmoreal and eat breakfast first? I'm starving!"

Alice laughed and assured him that he would most certainly get the biggest breakfast he had ever seen.

Upon reaching Marmoreal, Alice handed Dum down from the bandersnatch to the Queen.

Knowing why she had not dismounted, the Queen said softly, "Head back the way you came and you should find the Hatter just inside the Tulgey wood. But Alice, do be careful! He is very upset and you know how he can get when he is angry."

Alice nodded and set off to find her beloved Hatter and her lousy brother-in-law.

.................................................................

Speaking of the lousy brother-in-law, Lowell was heading in the right direction for once. Unfortunately though, he would soon wish he wasn't. The Gummer Slough was populated with all sorts of terrible things and creatures. Its depth and width were mostly unknown because most Underlandians refused to go near it. Even the Red Queen, Iracebeth, had never gone there – sent people there for punishment, sure, but never gone there herself.

The Gummer Slough was the home to creatures such as acidic vomiting fungus, the oozing lurk (also known as the amoebic horror), snail porcupines (slow but dangerous), giant lamprey squids and of course jubjub birds. But if that wasn't enough, the swamp mud itself was also dangerous - like quicksand. If a person or creature were to take a wrong step they could end up being sucked in and drowned.

Lowell knew none of this, of course, because he had refused to let Uilleam escort him around it. So he continued in the direction that the bird had pointed, completely unaware that he was being watched by several pairs of eyes.

"I have to find some water soon, or I'll collapse!" Lowell yelled desperately. "How big is this bloody place?!"

Unfortunately his yelling alerted the attention of several creatures he would rather have not disturbed. Suddenly a long tentacle whipped up out of the water and wrapped around his leg.

"Nnugh-" was all that Lowell was able to get out before being sucked under the thick mud by a large lamprey squid. Fighting with all his might he managed to kick out and hit something (not being able to see what it was through all the mud) and the tentacle let him go. Surfacing he managed to gasp for air once before it once again grabbed him and tried to drag him under. Fighting seemed to do no good this time, as the creature had a hold of his arms and legs. He was losing energy fast. After not having anything to eat or drink for two days, he was exhausted.

Out of nowhere, the creature suddenly released him and he managed to find the energy to kick to the surface. Making his way to the bank he looked back at what had grabbed him and nearly fainted. The monster in the mud was huge! With tentacles at least two feet long and a large circular mouth with rows upon rows of sharp teeth, it was a terrible sight to behold.

But it was not the only creature in the mud. Fighting with the creature were several strange looking animals and the bird he had met earlier. It seemed they were the reason the beast had let him go. Lowell huffed and said shakily to himself, "Now they will think that I owe them something. I better get out of here before they get out of the mud and start making demands of me."

And as Uilleam and his friends fought for their lives, Lowell marched off into the distance without so much as a look behind him to see whether his saviors lived or died.

...............................................

Alice had no trouble finding Tarrant. He was staring distractedly up at the sky as if he had just seen something interesting.

"Tarrant!" Alice called.

"Alice? What are you doing here?" Tarrant said somewhat absently, as if he had previously been deep in thought.

"I came to find you before you did something foolish!"

"Chessur tol' you didn' he? When I get my han's on tha' bluddy cat—" he began to ramble madly.

He continued rambling and pacing furiously as she tried to get his attention. And this time her calls of "Hatter!" and "Tarrant!" didn't soothe him.

"Chessur didn't tell me anything! The White Queen saw you had decided to go after Lowell in the oraculum and made Chessur tell her everything.  
"Bluddy slurvish queens! Meddlin' in things tha' aren' thar business!" he continued to ramble.

Alice took his face in her hands, noticing his eyes were a deep orange, almost red. "Tarrant, please listen to me! The Queen was worried about you that's all! As am I!"

"Nunz, Alice, nunz!" he cried desperately, grabbing Alice's shoulders and shaking her slightly. His eyes had turned a mournful grey, like the clouds he had been looking at earlier.

"If you want to say something, Tarrant, please say it in a language I can understand! You know I don't speak Outlandish!" She said as she tried to think of a way to calm his madness. He seemed beyond upset and she had never seen him this way.

The Hatter was shaking his head back and forth, like a dog trying to get water out of its ears. He was having a hard time focusing because so many different thoughts were flying around in his head.

If his friends had been there with them, they would have told Alice to get away from the Hatter as fast as possible because when he was this out of control he could turn violent quickly.

Finally it seemed as if he was able to focus his thoughts and he stopped shaking his head. But the look he gave her when his eyes – his red eyes – met hers was not comforting or sane.

"…Tarrant-" Alice began cautiously.

"NAE!" he roared angrily, cutting her off. "Ye aren' goin' tae leave me, Alice! Ne'er!" He clutched her by the shoulders roughly, almost as if by holding her like this he could keep her there with him forever.

Alice trembled. She had never seen him like this. She had no idea what he was talking about…unless-Oh! Her talk with Absolem!

"Tarrant," she began in the most soothing voice she could manage, "I'm not going anywhere. Absolem was just talking…we haven't decided on anything!"

Tarrant growled, "Ne'er leavin' me, ye hear?" NE'ER! Yer MINE…My Alice…"

"I understand, Tarrant. I won't leave you. Please just calm down…"

But he was inconsolable. Alice had no idea what to do. She couldn't get out of the iron like grip he had on her shoulders and she was pretty sure his ramblings seemed to be getting worse, not better.

Suddenly she had an idea. It was a long shot, but he was mad after all. Maybe she could distract him. He seemed to get distracted easily, so she decided to give it a shot. It was the only one she had, so she would have to run fast back to where she had left the bandersnatch.

Alice pointed toward the trees, "Look Tarrant! It's Lowell!"

"_Lowell_…" the Hatter snarled with malice. Loosening his hold slightly he turned toward the trees where Alice had pointed.

Alice immediately took advantage of the situation and tried to escape to the bandersnatch. Unfortunately her ruse didn't work as well as she thought it would and she only managed to get about five feet away when she was grabbed from behind by an enraged Hatter. He slowly turned her around to face him. His eyes were still the same flaming red, but now his face carried a rage that scared her worse than she had ever been in her life. She was even more frightened than she had been when she fought the jabberwocky.

Slowly she tried to reach out to him to try once again to soothe him, but his eyes narrowed and he jerked away growling. This man was not Tarrant. This was not her beloved Hatter. This was the madness everyone had warned her about. She thought she had seen all there was to his madness when he had told her of the atrocities of the Red Queen and when he had fought Stayne. She was wrong.

"Tarrant…Hatter…" she whispered in a small voice.

"SILENCE!" he roared so loudly it made her flinch. She heard him begin to mumble to himself again. "…my Alice, mine, fore'er…gone…NO!" She once again flinched as he screamed the last word.

He began shaking her again, only more violently, and in her attempts to get him to stop, she wrapped her arms around his neck. This seemed to work slightly, he had less room to shake her in, so she moved closer to him. Suddenly, before she could even register what had happened, he was kissing her.

This kiss was much like the one from the battlefield, rough, almost brutal. His lips ravaged hers and occasionally his teeth grazed her bottom lip. She couldn't help but respond. She did care for him, madness or no, and the adrenaline she was feeling from being scared seemed to easily translate into excitement. His hands moved over her body greedily and she couldn't form enough of a thought to be frightened or offended by his boldness.

She noticed that his kisses and touches gradually slowed and became gentler until it seemed he became almost hesitant. He pulled away and looked at her with a bewildered expression. She noticed his eyes were a soft lilac color.

"Alice?" he asked softly, "What is going on? Where are we? Why are we kissing…not that I mind…but?"

"We are in the Tulgey wood, Tarrant…you don't remember?"

"…I…I…." suddenly the Hatter's eyes got wide and he stuttered, "…I hurt you! Alice! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I don't know what to say! I…Oh!..." And with that he stumbled to the ground with a sob.

"No, no Tarrant, it's alright…you didn't hurt me…I'm alright! See?" She kneeled next to him and took his face into her hands.

"I'm sorry, Alice! Really!" the Hatter said mournfully. His eyes the murky shade of grey from earlier.

"There's nothing to apologize for. You couldn't help it, and I'm fine! Really!" Alice said reassuringly, because after all she really was fine. He had scared her obviously, but not hurt her. "Let's get you back to Marmoreal, okay?"

The Hatter nodded but said, "I can't help but feel like there was a reason I was here…"

"Don't worry, Tarrant. Well get back to Marmoreal and talk to the Queen, she'll know what to do." And she prayed that the Queen really would know what to do. She would worry about Lowell later.

....................................

Okay! So review…please?


	10. Chapter 10

Hey guys! Hope you haven't given up on me! For those of you who read my update, I know I promised that this chapter was going to be called 'Crime and Punishment', but that is actually the next chapter. I realized I still had a bit more writing to do before we got to that part. I hope you like this chapter; it's got a little bit of everything! Drama, romance, etc…I tried to make it one of the best yet, since you had to wait so long for it!

The quote "You could almost make me forget what I have sworn to do." Comes from the original script. I liked it and wanted to use it. I thought it sucked that they cut it out of the movie. But anyways…

Disclaimer: As always, I do not own Alice in Wonderland, its characters, places, etc. And unfortunately, I am making no money from this.

Review and let me know what you think, please! Enjoy!

...

Chapter 10: Mayhem and Madness

It was a little past sunset in Wonderland, and because of the low light you could barely make out the six weary and injured figures trudging to the shore of the Gummer Slough. They had recently been in a terrible fight with a giant lamprey squid and barely escaped with their lives. Most of them had terrible cuts and bruises and a few had broken limbs. They had been trying to save the life of a man named Lowell Manchester. He was a despicable coward who only ever thought of himself, so it was no surprise that he had conveniently managed to disappear the moment the opportunity presented itself.

"Where is he?" exclaimed Omaque the platypus. "We save his life and he isn't even here?"

Uilleam the dodo sighed. "I wanted to believe he was not a bad person. I thought perhaps he was merely upset because of his circumstances, but his actions prove to the contrary."

"You always try to see the best in all beings, Uilleam, but it seems that there is nothing left in him that is good," stated Bill the lizard.

The Mock Turtle gave a soft moan of pain as he tried to make his way farther up the bank. His tail was almost completely gone and one of his hooves was broken. Limping slightly he sad miserably, "Why exactly did we save him, again?"

The Gryphon replied somewhat haughtily, "Because _we_, unlike _him_, have morals and principles. And if we had left him to die we would be no better than him."

"Well said," stated Uilleam. "Now I suggest we get out of this frumious accursed swamp and all try to make it to Thackery's house before dark."

"No!" shouted Sampras the squirrel, who was relatively unscathed since he had joined in near the end of the fight. "I have to get help for Tweedledum! I was on my way to find him help when I heard all the commotion. I have to get back and make sure he's alright."

"Tweedledum?" cried Uilleam. "What's the matter with Tweedledum?"

"His leg is badly broken and he is pretty banged up from falling out of that tree-"

All of the animals started asking questions at once. "What? What tree? Where? What happened?"

Sampras told them everything that had happened before he had left Tweedledum. The others were even angrier than before and nothing Uilleam said could calm them. They insisted on going after Lowell and making him pay for his behavior, but Uilleam and Sampras managed to convince them to help Tweedledum first.

Turning toward the forest they limped, shuffled, and staggered their way toward Sampras' tree house.

...

The six friends in Gummer Slough were not the only ones with problems. While her friends had battled a squid, Alice Kingsley was busy battling with her anxiety over the ordeal with Tarrant. She was a thoughtful and caring person, so naturally she was still feeling a bit worried about the Hatter's earlier behavior. She was worried that with Lowell close by and Absolem undecided as to what to do about the situation that he could lapse back into madness at any time.

All the way back to the castle the Hatter had been unusually silent and still, as if he were trying very hard to control himself. She knew he still felt guilty. He refused to cheer up no matter how many times she told him she was fine and that nothing bad had happened. Apparently he thought it was bad enough that she had had to see him that way.

When they finally reached the city, he helped her down from the bandersnatch and then quickly walked away into the castle without so much as a second glance at her. She tried to chase after him, but he ignored her pleas for him to stop and continued his quick pace until he reached his hat making workshop. Upon reaching the workshop he hastily slipped in and locked the door so she was unable to follow.

Alice sighed and pressed her forehead against the cool wood of the door. She was exhausted, but she refused to leave things the way they were between herself and Tarrant. She sank down to the floor and sat with her back to the door.

"…Tarrant…" she began softly. Even though she heard no noise from the room, she knew he was listening. "I know you're listening…"

There was still no sound from inside, which obviously meant he wasn't working, so he couldn't help but hear her. She knew she had to be honest with him and get everything out in the open. She knew this could cause him to have another episode like before, but it had to be done. At least they were in the castle now, so if she screamed someone was bound to hear… She took a deep breath and gathered her courage.

"I won't lie to you, Tarrant," she said in the most soothing voice she could manage. "You scared me today. But I understand. I know why you were upset and I'm not angry with you. You want me to stay in Underland with you and I have to admit that I would love that, but if it comes down to leaving in order to keep you and all of the others safe, I will go back to my world."

A soft creak was heard just on the other side of the door. It sounded as if he had sat down on the floor as well. She decided to tell him everything she was feeling, hoping maybe it would help him open up to her.

"I care very deeply for you, Tarrant. I won't deny that, but I can't stay if it means that I will be putting you in danger. And Lowell is a danger to you all. If he ever leaves here he will more than likely come back later and bring even more danger and evil with him. I can't – no - I won't allow that. This is a wonderful, magical place and I won't let him or anyone else ruin it."

Suddenly she was tumbling backward into the room and looking up at a very upset Hatter. He looked down at her with such a mournful expression that it broke her heart. He reached down to help her up and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Alice…" he whispered softly as he nuzzled her hair. Nervously she wrapped her own arms around him. She hoped he wouldn't become angry again. He began to stroke her back like he had done on the balcony. She sighed and relaxed in his arms.

He shifted slightly as if embarrassed about something and she looked up at him. His cheeks were even pinker than usual. He was blushing! She couldn't help but smile. He began rambling softly at first, but getting louder as if he were afraid of losing his courage before he got it all out.

"At first when you returned to Underland, I was happy because it meant we could have more adventures and tea parties and unbirthdays like we had had when you were a younger Alice. But…after you had been here for a while, I began to feel differently about you. You were no longer a child. You were so different. But in a good way!" he hastily added.

She started to say something, but he put his hand over her mouth.

"You helped us save Underland, even though you didn't have to. And you put yourself at great risk to save people you barely knew. You are so brave and kind and intelligent and sweet and beautiful and-" She softly bit his hand to get his attention. "Oh right, sorry!" he said in response. He began again, but this time quietly and somewhat hesitant.

"I couldn't help but fall in love with you…" he whispered brokenly. "Now that I finally realize that, it seems I am going to lose you. I would do anything to keep you with me, Alice." Suddenly he lapsed into his deep brogue, startling her. "I would do anythin' for you, Alice. Anythin'." His eyes were swirling into many different colors, but none of them were colors she liked seeing. They alternated from the upset orange color she was used to seeing, the mournful grey from earlier, and the dangerous red that she had only ever seen once - and had hoped not to see again.

Alice suddenly realized the position she was in. She had allowed his hand to cover her mouth when he was talking to keep her from interrupting. She hadn't thought anything about it until she saw his madness take over. But now she realized that if he decided to hurt her no one would be able to hear. She immediately tried to remove herself from his hold, only to find that he had tightened the arm around her waist into an almost crushing grip. His eyes remained a deep red that terrified her.

"I would do anythin' to keep ye safe an' by my side, Alice. E'en if it means gettin' rid o' tha lowlife _Lowell_," he growled into her ear. She was trembling slightly from fear, but was unable to move or speak due to his hands. "Oh I 'ad forgot all about him until you brought him up jus' now, Alice." A dark chuckle came from his throat that sounded extremely sinister. "Lucky for meh I guess. I know you don' wan' to harm 'im. But you did say you wanna get rid him, so I will do it for ye. Now I will get back tae mah original plan, see? But before I do, I have tae make sure ye are safe and keep ye outta mah way." He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Canna have ye ruinin' everythin'. I know how ye are, Alice. Innocent and good, throogh an' throogh. But me – well I'm no' good. I'm mad, see? Mad as a hatter…" He broke off and grinned at her in a way that made her extremely nervous.

Alice felt like she was hyperventilating, which might have very well been the case since his hand was over her mouth and his arm was crushing her chest in a vice like grip. She knew she had to do something soon or else he was going to do something terrible.

"Now," he began slowly, as if talking to a child. "Stay 'ere, safe, while I'm gone." He growled menacingly at her and said, "I would hate to fin' out ye were tryin' to stop meh again. 'specially since you jus' tol' me 'ow much ye wan' to stay 'ere with meh."

She nodded furiously in hopes that he would release his hold on her. No such luck, however. He merely smirked at her and whispered suggestively in her ear, "Maybe when I get back ye can finish tellin' meh about 'ow much ye 'care' for meh. Hmm?" He then placed a hot, open mouthed kiss on her neck that, despite her brain's protests, had her leaning into him. This, on top of her distress and lack of air, caused poor Alice to faint in his arms. He sighed and whispered against her throat, "You could almost make me forget what I have sworn to do."

...

Tarrant, knowing Alice would more than likely try to come after him, used some cloth to gently tie her to one of the chairs he had sitting around the workshop. After tying her up (and making sure she would be comfortable), he began fishing around through one of the drawers in a large table across the room. Finding what he needed he put the items in his pocket and left the room. He realized then that it was lucky Alice had followed him to the Tulgey wood and brought him back to Marmoreal. The last time he left to get rid of Lowell he had forgotten to get all of the things he would need.

It was also lucky that she had followed him to his hat making workshop instead of going straight to the White Queen. Since no one had seen them return to Marmoreal, he wouldn't have to worry about any of them finding Alice and interfering with his plans.

He couldn't lose her now. He knew what it felt like to have nothing and no one. He had lost everything when the Red Queen attacked on Horvendush day all those years ago, killing his family and destroying everything he held dear. He clenched his fists. He couldn't go back to that. It would kill him this time, he was sure of it. He would just have to make sure it didn't happen.

If everything went his way, Alice would never have to leave Underland again. He grinned and hummed to himself as he made his way to his first destination – the Room of Doors.

...

The White Queen paced her throne room anxiously. The oraculum was still giving her no answers. It kept showing many different images, as if the person it was focused on couldn't make up his mind. She wasn't surprised by this. With a man like Tarrant Hightopp, no one ever knew what to expect. His madness made him completely unpredictable. The only definite thing that the oraculum seemed to be showing her was an image of Alice somewhere tied up. And of course that meant they had no champion to stop whatever mayhem and chaos the Hatter caused. She dispatched as many soldiers she could afford to try and find Alice. Wringing her hands, she glared at the oraculum. It was no help to her at all.

...

Tarrant Hightopp might have been a madman, but he was also a very intelligent man. He knew exactly what he had to do and exactly how to do it. Get rid of Lowell and stop him from ever returning. He had caused enough suffering in Underland and it was going to stop – as soon as he put the first part of his plan in action.

As he made his way to the Room of Doors, the Hatter was worried that perhaps he should have gone after Lowell first. What if the Queen's soldier's found him before he could? That would ruin everything! …but no- they could never find anything or even take the simplest directions. They were probably hopelessly lost somewhere in the Tulgey wood and he and the others would have to find them later after this was over.

It was getting dark and he was only about halfway there. He debated on whether or not to stop for the night, but decided it wasn't a good idea. The longer he tarried, the longer Lowell remained in Underland. Unacceptable. He would sleep when it was all over.

...

So….I was worried that the Hatter's madness might jeopardize his and Alice's relationship. I don't want her scared of him all the time…it doesn't seem conducive to a healthy relationship. But I also wanted to make the Hatter's character as realistic as possible. Please let me know what you think.

GLC


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Alice in Wonderland, its characters, places, etc. I am not making money from this.

Hope you guys enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think! Review please!

Chapter 11: Crime

By the time they reached Sampras' tree house, Uilleam the Dodo, Omaque the Platypus, Bill the Lizard, the Gryphon, and the Mock Turtle were exhausted. It was late and all they wanted to do was to find and help Tweedledum and then go home and rest. But it would seem that they would get no rest tonight. Tweedledum was nowhere to be found.

"He was right here when I left to go find help!" Sampras the squirrel said tiredly.

The Gryphon sighed and said, "Well he obviously isn't here now, and there is no way we will find him in the dark, so I say we try to get some rest."

"Absolutely not," said Uilleam. "Tweedledum is hurt and we must find him. Just think, he could be lost and cold. What friends would we be if we didn't try to help him?"

"But how will we find him at night? He could be anywhere!" cried the Mock Turtle.

"We will travel to Marmoreal and ask for the Queen's help. She should be able to find him with the oraculum," Uilleam replied.

"Marmoreal? You want us to go all the way to Marmoreal in the dark? When most of us are injured?" cried Bill. "That's at least a four hour walk!"

"Well then I guess we should get started," said Uilleam.

And with that said, the friends continued their trek through the forest. If they were lucky they would be getting to Marmoreal at dawn.

...

They weren't the only ones who were headed for Marmoreal at the moment. Lowell was on his way there as well, although he was quite a bit closer. He had decided that he had had enough of this place and would keep walking until he reached his destination.

He had realized after the incident with the squid that – yes, this place _was_ undoubtedly real and not a figment of his imagination, and that somehow Alice had managed to become a hero of sorts in this place. He realized that the best way to get revenge on her for causing him so much trouble would be to destroy this place and hurt her friends. That would cause her the most grief, he was sure of it.

He had already made that fat kid suffer and managed to get those talking animals hurt in the swamp. He wondered how many other people and creatures she was close to in this place. The one thing he did know was that he was going to do as much damage as he could before he reached the Room of Mirrors. And after he had returned home, he would make sure and send the cruelest and evilest men back here to exploit and then destroy this place.

He smiled. He could see the towers of the castle over the horizon. It was late – or really early. Most of the inhabitants within would be asleep. He would have plenty of time to cause mayhem.

...

The Mad Hatter had reached the Room of Doors a couple of hours after dark. He and Lowell were both causing quite a bit of trouble. Although, while Lowell's intentions were to cause harm to everyone and everything in his path, the Hatter's only thought was to prevent it.

As Tarrant arrived at his destination, he saw that one of the doors had been completely smashed, and the table that used to be in the center of the room was nowhere to be found. He growled. Lowell did this, of that he had no doubt. He had wrecked this room just like he was wrecking everything else. Specifically, his relationship with Alice.

Well, if the Hatter had his way, no one would ever come here to wreck anything again. He took matches and a hammer from his pockets. Lowell had made such a wreck of the room that the Hatter didn't really have much to do. After piling as much broken wood as he possibly could in the center of the room, he set about using his hammer to tear down some of the walls and doors. He wanted to make sure that when the fire started the entire room would collapse, making it so that no one could come through this portal ever again. The fire started slowly, but the Hatter stayed until the room was almost completely demolished. He didn't want to risk someone putting the fire out.

Once the room was irreversibly damaged he turned back to Marmoreal. He knew trying to find Lowell would be difficult, so he had decided on his way to the Room of Doors that he would wait for Lowell to come to him. Lowell would have to come to Marmoreal if he was to get back to the Abovegroud, so it was only a matter of time. The Hatter would wait for him in the Room of Mirrors.

...

Alice awoke in an uncomfortable position. After shifting around in the dark for a few seconds, she realized that she had been tied to what appeared to be a chair in the Hatter's workshop. What was going on?

Remembering her interaction with the Hatter earlier, she began to panic. Was he still here? Was he going to hurt her? No…the Hatter wouldn't hurt her…would he? The past few days had her questioning her earlier opinions of him. She had once thought madness to be a good thing. Currently she wasn't so sure. Tarrant's madness was explosive and unpredictable. She had never experienced anything like it. She had thought him her friend – maybe even more, but his recent actions had her confused.

Suddenly she was no longer scared. She was angry. No – furious. How dare he tie _her_ to a chair? She was Underland's champion! She had risked her life to come rescue him from the Red Queen and fought the Red Queen's jabberwocky to free him and the rest of Underland from her tyranny! How dare he treat her this way!

Working at the bindings, she realized that they weren't very tight. Apparently he hadn't thought she would try and escape. Well, she would show him. She would get free and show him that she wouldn't stand for his behavior. No longer would she cower in fear of him. If she was going to stay here, she couldn't constantly be afraid of upsetting him.

...

The White Queen had decided to completely give up trying to use the oraculum to find answers. It wasn't helping at all. She instead decided to seek out Absolem and see what he could tell her. She sent Mallymkun to find him and bring him back to the castle as soon as possible. Little did she know that had she took one last look at the oraculum, she would have noticed that the future was starting to become clear. And it didn't bode well for her.

Unknowingly, she decided she would take a walk in the garden to speak to the trees. They had been restless and whispering all night. She decided to go see what was bothering them.

...

The Mad Hatter looked sadly over the destruction he had caused in the Room of Mirrors. He hadn't wanted this. He knew what he was doing was somewhat wrong, but he knew it was necessary if he wanted to get rid of Lowell and keep Alice in Underland. He had returned to Marmoreal about an hour ago and had headed straight for this room. He knew that he had to be ready when Lowell arrived so he got to work immediately. No one had noticed his return. It was late and most everyone was asleep. He made sure to muffle the sounds so no one would wake up and stop him.

He decided he would leave only one way for Lowell to get out of Underland. He would have to come to this room and face him if he wanted to get home. Not that he would necessarily make it back. The Hatter had smashed every mirror but one. Glass and fragments of frames lay sprawled throughout the room. He decided he should probably clean them up. If there was a fight, he didn't want Lowell to be able to use the sharp pieces to his advantage.

He sighed and carefully began cleaning up the broken pieces of mirror. He really hoped this would be over soon. But somehow he doubted it.

...

Lowell approached the castle cautiously. He figured they would have soldiers scattered about and he would have to be careful if he didn't want to be detected. Surveying the grounds, he noticed that the guard posted at the gate appeared to be asleep. He almost laughed. Slipping past as quickly and quietly as possible – he was very good at sneaking – he noticed he was now in a grove of trees outside the castle. 'Excellent', he thought. They would provide him adequate cover as he made his way to the castle. As he got nearer to the castle, however, he could hear what sounded to be a soft voice drifting between the trees.

"…I am sorry you are feeling uneasy. I am taking care of things to the best of my abilities. There is really nothing for you to worry over…" he heard someone say.

Looking around from the trunk of the tree he was hiding behind, he saw a beautiful white-blonde haired woman. It appeared she was speaking to the tree… A tree? Was she crazy? In this place, he didn't doubt it. But she was wearing crown! Perhaps she was that White Queen the butterfly told him about…

What had that butterfly said? Something about her wanting to punish him for his actions against that fat boy. Well, he would just have to start his plan to cause trouble a little earlier than expected. After all, she was alone and the guard was asleep. He could slip up behind her before she even knew what was happening. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. But what to do with her? He could snap he neck, but then he would have to trouble with hiding the body. He then realized how lucky he was to have happened upon her out here all alone.

She was his ticket into the castle! Even if there were guards in the castle, they wouldn't dare touch him if he held her life in his hands. He chuckled at his ingenious plan. Nothing could stop him now.

He quietly snuck up behind the unsuspecting Queen and put his hand over her mouth.

"Now you listen closely," Lowell whispered in her ear. "You are going to get me into the castle and help me get home, or you are going to die. Understand?"

The White Queen nodded her head, but still tried to get away by struggling in his arms.

"Be still, or I will snap your pretty neck!" Lowell snarled.

The Queen instantly stilled and hoped that somehow she would be able to figure this out before this madman hurt even more people.

Holding one hand around her mouth tightly and the other wrapped tightly around her waist to prevent her escape, Lowell grinned to himself as the two made their way to the castle unhindered.

...

Alice had finally managed to get free from the chair she had been tied to and was making her way through the castle to find someone who knew what was going on. She hoped the Hatter hadn't done anything crazy. She laughed. Of course he was doing something crazy! He was the Mad Hatter. She just hoped he wasn't doing anything violently crazy.

It seemed to be very late at night. Everyone appeared to be asleep and only a few guards were milling about. She stopped one to inquire about the Queen's whereabouts.

"I imagine she is sleeping like the rest of the castle," replied the guard impatiently as he hurried on his way.

Hmph. Alice snorted. He obviously didn't know the Queen at all. If Alice knew her like she thought she did, she imagined the Queen was still awake worrying over the situation with Lowell. Alice didn't realize how right she was.

"If I were the White Queen, where would I go to think?" Alice wondered aloud. She went to the throne room first, but no one was there. Only the oraculum and one dwindling candle. Someone had been here recently, though that much was obvious.

Alice walked over and surveyed the oraculum to see if things had gotten any clearer since she last viewed it. Gasping at what she saw on the scroll, she fled the room and ran as fast as her legs could carry her to the castle gardens. Had she been thinking clearly, she would have retrieved her sword and armor. She was going to need it.

...

The Mad Hatter had fallen asleep on the floor of the Room of Mirrors. He had had an exhausting and agonizing few days, and he had no longer been able to hold his eyes open. If one were to observe him closely however, they would be able to see that he wasn't sleeping peacefully. Quite the opposite, in fact. His dreams were haunted with terrible images and memories.

The past few weeks had finally taken their toll on him. The Red Queen, the battle, Lowell, Alice. It had all become too much for him. He had been holding back his madness as much as he could, but the nightmares were too realistic and he was too stressed.

With almost no warning suddenly the Hatter sat up, completely awake. And completely out of his mind. His red eyes were the only visible thing in the pitch black room.

...

Hope you liked it! Let me know what you think! Next chapter up soon! - GLC


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Alice in Wonderland, its characters, places, etc. I am not making money from this fanfic.

The quote "even the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry" is by Robert Burns, in his poem To a Mouse.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, so far! I really appreciate all of your comments! I look forward to reading the ones for this chapter! ;)

**Mulan 2**: I don't know if you are still reading this, but if you are there is a part of this chapter that might seem familiar to you! Remember your review from Chpater 7? I used part of you idea for a paragraph in this chapter. ;) Hope you like it!

...

Chapter 12: Punishment

Things were going exactly as he planned. If butterflies could smile, he would have done so at that moment. 'Absolem,' he thought proudly, 'you are absolutely brilliant. What would the creatures of Underland do without you?'

Absolem had known that if he had told Lowell the others were trying to punish him his first thought would be to run away. He knew that because the man was a coward he would try to leave Underland as soon as possible, which was why he had told him about the Room of Mirrors.

Lowell's encounter with the lamprey squid only reinforced Absolem's beliefs of his cowardice. He had observed the whole ordeal from high above in the tree tops. He had watched as the coward had fled the moment he was free, leaving the other creatures to deal with the monstrous squid.

But telling him about the Room of Mirrors hadn't been enough. He knew that if he was to be certain the man would leave Underland and not come back, he had to take further precautions.

So he had watched and waited for the right opportunity. When he had noticed Chessur slinking around Alice's room nosily, he "happened" to make the suggestion that she may have to leave Underland to save her friends. He had known that the cat would spread the rumor. Chess was incapable of keeping secrets. He had only hoped that somehow the rumor would get to the Hatter without getting too distorted. He needed the Hatter to understand the severity of the situation.

He had gambled that the Hatter's affections for Alice were strong enough to make him take action. All rested on how deeply he cared for Alice and Underland.

And he didn't disappoint. The Hatter had successfully managed to make sure that Lowell could no longer return to Underland once he was gone. The Room of Doors was no more. Of course, Absolem would have gone about things in a much more dignified manner if he had been in charge, but the task was completed all the same.

The butterfly hummed to himself happily. He was impatient for Lowell to be gone so Mirana would finally throw the ball she had been promising since the defeat of the Red Queen.

Unfortunately, even the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry - and the plans of butterlies, no matter how ingenious they may be, are no different. Although he was right about Lowell being a coward, he had underestimated the toll being in Underland had had on his sanity. Lowell now cared for revenge more than he cared for going home. Thankfully, at that moment Mallymkun was on her way to Absolem to get his help.

…

Lowell Manchester grinned to himself as he and the White Queen made it into the castle completely unscathed. Not a single guard had tried to attack him. They had certainly pursued him into the castle at a close distance, ever watchful for an opportunity to strike, but none of them had dared approach him yet. They were all wary of getting too close, just in case he tried to hurt the Queen.

He chuckled. "Now see how smoothly things go when you cooperate?" Lowell whispered to the Queen.

She glared at him, but could say nothing due to his hand covering her mouth. She may have taken a vow to hurt no living creature, but she was thinking about making an exception for this man.

"Why don't you tell me where the Room of Mirrors is and I might consider about letting you go unharmed," Lowell murmured to her laughingly.

Suddenly a door burst open on the side of the room and Alice came running through.

"Why don't you let her go and I might consider letting _you_ go _alive_?" she growled at him.

He laughed. "Oh, Alice. So glad you could join us. The Queen here was just about to tell me how to get home, but now that you are here I'm considering killing her now and asking for directions later."

Alice glared daggers at her brother-in-law. "If you hurt her, I can promise you that you won't live long enough to ask for directions."

"Oh?" Lowell queried mockingly. "And just how do you exactly plan on harming me? Unless you have a weapon hidden under that frilly dress somewhere?"

One of the Queen's knights handed her a sword. She smirked at Lowell and tilted her head as if to say, 'You were saying?'

He glowered at the soldier for a moment before returning his eyes to Alice.

"It makes no difference," he muttered. "Even with a weapon, you can't harm me. What do you possibly know about fighting? I mean you're a just _woman_ for pity's sake!"

That just happened to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

Mirana saw the fire that burned in Alice's eyes and tried one last time to escape Lowell's hold. She managed to move far enough away that Alice was able to rush Lowell and punch him square in the nose. The force of the blow was enough to cause him to finally let go of Mirana and the soldiers immediately surrounded her for her protection.

"Since I am but a meek and insignificant _woman_, as you said, I imagine that you barely felt that little tap," Alice spoke in a falsely saccharine voice. "But I promise you will feel this." And her fist once again collided with his face.

"This is for my sister!" *slap*

"This is for Tweedledee and Dum!" *punch*

"And this is for Mirana!" *kick*

"And THIS is for Tarrant!" *kick, punch, slap*

The guards laughingly pulled her off of him on Mirana's orders. The Queen had him escorted to the dungeons immediately.

…

Tarrant was waiting patiently for Lowell to arrive. Something told him it wouldn't be long now. Suddenly he heard rustling and stood, immediately thinking it was Lowell. The door opened and Mallymkun rushed in.

"Mally?" the Hatter growled. "What are you doin' 'ere?"

"Me?" Mally asked. "Absolem told me to wait for him here. What are _you_ doing here?"

"Absolem? Why does 'e need you tae be 'ere?"

"He said that Lowell would have to go back through these mirrors and that he would need my help-" Mally paused and took a look around. "Hatter…what happened to all the mirrors?" she asked nervously.

Then she noticed his eyes.

"Hatter…what's the matter with your eyes? What happened in here?"

He moved toward her slowly. He had to stop her from leaving the room and giving him away.

"Hatter? Hatter, what's the matter with you?" Mallymkun cried. "Tell me what's wrong and I'll help you!"

He looked at her for a moment and then said sadly, "Nae Mally, you canna help meh. I 'ave tae do this alone. I willna 'ave yeh hurt." And then he continued to advance on her. She tried to run, but he swooped down and grabbed her before she could make it back to the door. She struggled to get loose, but he held on tight. Not knowing anything else to do, she bit him.

He flinched slightly, but didn't let go of her.

Suddenly there were more footsteps outside the door and more creatures cam walking in. Mally was glad when the Hatter saw them and finally dropped her. That was until she saw the her friends' injuries.

The Hatter seemed equally upset about their pain and obvious suffering. "What 'appened?" he asked.

The Gryphon growled out, "Lowell."

The Hatter's fists clenched and the look on his face was murderous. "An' jus' 'ow long does Absolem thin' it will be 'fore Lowell gets 'ere?" he ground out between clenched teeth.

Mally tremblingly replied, "He didn't give me a time, but he said to wait for him here in case Lowell tried anything stupid."

"Aye," Uilleam the Dodo replied. "He met us outside the castle and told us to come here and wait for him. We came here looking for help finding Tweedledum-"

"He's here," said Mally. "Alice brought him back."

A relieved sigh came from the group. "I was worried something terrible had happened to him," Sampras the squirrel said tiredly.

Mally looked at him. And looked at him. Then blushed and looked to her feet when she realized she was staring. He held out a furry paw for her to shake.

"I don't believe we've met. My name is Sampras. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Mallymkun," she squeaked bashfully in reply.

"Good-" A bored voice came from above them. "-you're all here..." He stopped and fluttered down closer. "What happened to the mirrors?"

Mally glared at the Hatter and said, "Ask Tarrant. They were like this when I arrived."

The Mad Hatter growled at Mally, but said nothing in response.

Absolem sighed. "Never matter. We only need the one." He paused for a moment as if in deep thought. "We must move quickly. Mirana is having Lowell put in the dungeons. If he escapes there is no telling how much damage he will cause. We must get him through the mirror and close all of the portals for good."

Bill the Lizard blinked, surprised. "For good? But what about Alice? What if she decides she wants to go home?"

The Hatter advanced on him and growled, "She _is_ home an' she doesn'a wan tae leave."

Absolem cleared his throat and said calmly, "Well. Fortunately if Alice does decide she needs to return Above-" (at this he received a furious look from the Hatter) "-then she will have the jabberwocky blood."

"However, as the Hatter told us, I do not think she truly wants to return. Now, Bill, Omaque, Uilleam, do you think you can get to the dungeons and convince some soldiers to bring Lowell here?"

Uilleam blanched. "Go against the Queen's orders? I don't think anyone would willingly do that, including myself. Why, the White Queen has done so much for us-" He was abruptly cut off by the Hatter's hand clamped onto his beak.

"I will bring 'im 'ere an' toss 'im through tha bluddy mirror meself," the Hatter said impatiently. "Queen's orders or nae."

"Good," Absolem said. "Once you've gotten him through the mirror, Tarrant, make sure and smash it. He can't come back or else we will all be in grave danger."

"It will be a pleasure," the Hatter replied. And he strode out of the door quickly.

Absolem beamed proudly at him. He could always count on Tarrant Hightopp -even when he was acting stark raving mad.

"The rest of you come with me," he said thoughtfully. "We need to create a distraction so Tarrant has time to complete his task."

…

So yeah, I came up with a brilliant way to get Hatter out of trouble AND get Lowell's butt kicked! Who loves me? ;) Just kidding! No, but really, did you like it? Let me know! Another update will come soon! -GLC


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Alice in Wonderland, its characters, places, etc. I am not making money from this.

You guys are so awesome! I got some great reviews last chapter!

**Niphuria: **This one's for you! Thanks so much for your reviews! Hope you like it!

A muse hit me this week and I have been writing constantly! Three chapters in a week! Whoo! But I can't believe it! Only one or two of chapters left! I might write another Alice in Wonderland after this, but I don't know…what do you guys think?

A little bitty bit of cussing in this chapter. Telling you before-hand because I don't want flames. Just saying.

...

Chapter 13: Reconciliation

The sun was rising over Marmoreal. A new day was dawning and it seemed the people of Underland had managed to survive yet another threat. Lowell Manchester was locked away deep in the dungeons where he could no longer do harm to anyone or anything.

However, the threat that Lowell Manchester represented was still very much real to Tarrant Hightopp. Mainly, because he viewed Lowell as much more than a violent, vengeful man. To Tarrant Hightopp, Lowell Manchester represented a different type of threat. As long as Lowell still resided in Underland, Tarrant would be plagued with feelings of anxiety and anger over the possibility of losing Alice. That was what Lowell Manchester was to Tarrant.

And that was why at that very moment, he was traversing the dankest parts of the dungeon desperately trying to find the man before he could be stopped by the Queen.

The guards paid him little attention as he made his way around corners and past different cells. They knew him well. He was as much a champion to them as Alice, even though he didn't know it. His loyalty to Mirana during the reign of the Red Queen had never wavered despite the fact he had been brutally beaten, strangled, and nearly beheaded. He had lost his entire family and had suffered as much, or more, than anyone in Underland. They all respected and admired the slightly deranged hatter. He always did what was right, even if he did everything in his own crazy way.

So when he stopped in front of the cell containing Lowell Manchester and nodded at the guard to get out of the way, the man merely shrugged and handed him the keys. As he walked down the hallway, the guard muttered something about having to 'use the bathroom anyway'.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Lowell sneered as he looked up at the man who stood in front of his cell. "You look like a clown. If you've come to entertain me, spare me. I'm not in the mood."

"Are ye sure ye don' wan' tae hear a joke? I know a real funneh one about a man tha' fell downa rabbit hole," the Hatter replied with equal disdain.

"A man who fell down…" Lowell shot up from his position on the floor. "Think what's happening to me is funny do you?"

"Oh, I think it is very funneh. 'Specially tha endin'. Ye know - the par' where ye get tha shite kicked outtah yeh an' then thrown headfirs' through a portal."

"Through a portal? You're sending me home?" Lowell asked eagerly.

The Hatter chuckled darkly. "Nae. Not home. Not at all."

Lowell narrowed his eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means tha' I smashed tha portal tae yer home, an' all tha others, 'cept one," the Hatter grinned evilly. "One tha' I foun' rather appealin'."

Lowell gulped. As he had been speaking, the man had come closer to the bars of the cell and now Lowell could see his eyes. The last thing he remembered before falling into unconsciousness was the eerie sound of laughter and bright red eyes.

…

Alice was about ready to scream in aggravation. For the past hour all of the creatures she had met while in Underland had come forward to voice their complaints about Lowell to the White Queen. There was hardly even enough room for everyone to stand. Most of the complaints went on and on and by the time the third creature came forward, she was ready to plug her ears. While she understood why a trial of sorts was necessary, she didn't understand why she had to be present.

Okay, so that wasn't entirely true. She knew that it was necessary for her to be present because Lowell was her brother-in-law, but she trusted the judgment of the White Queen. She was the Queen after all, and Alice had told her that whatever punishment she decided was necessary was alright with her.

Perhaps she might have been less annoyed had she had the Hatter next to her keeping her entertained. She sighed. The past few interactions between them had been terrible. She was afraid that the Hatter she once knew was no more than a memory. She had no idea what to say or do around him now. Of course she had resolved not to be afraid of him anymore, but how else was she supposed to deal with this new version of her Hatter?

_Her_ Hatter? Where had that thought come from? Since when did she think of him as _hers_? She couldn't possibly still be thinking of pursuing a relationship with him could she?

No, no, no. They couldn't be together. Not after everything that had happened between them recently.

'But what exactly happened that was so bad?' her mind whispered.

'Nothing, really,' she agreed.

At least nothing that caused her harm. Sure he had scared her and tied her up, but he had only tied her to keep her from following him, he said.

He had frightened her with the intensity of the emotions he had expressed toward her. Of course, she hadn't minded his passionate emotions when they had been directed on her in other ways…She thought back to the kiss in the forest.

She shook her head hard, trying to rid herself of those type thoughts, causing the Queen to look at her strangely.

Oh, what was she to do? The one person she would have usually talked to about these things was the one person she had become afraid to talk to.

She sighed again and looked out through the crowd. Where was he anyway?

…

It was Absolem's turn to voice his complaints about Lowell to the Queen. This whole thing had been his idea. He had suggested it to the Queen as soon as he and the others had returned from the Room of Mirrors. He had told the others to try to make their grievances against Lowell as lengthy as possible to buy Tarrant more time.

'Lead by example' he thought as he began to recount his mind numbingly boring and detailed description of the events.

…

Tarrant had no trouble getting Lowell from the cell in the dungeons to the Room of Mirrors. The guards had given him a couple of questioning looks, but he noticed they were more out of curiosity than anything else. Soon this would all be over and he could be with his Alice again. _His_ Alice. 'That has a nice ring to it,' he thought happily. For the first time in days he felt hopeful and almost happy. His eyes had taken on more of yellow hue and his demeanor was far less frightening.

Perhaps this was why, Lowell, who had awoken to find himself sprawled on the floor of a large room, chose that moment to attack the poor Hatter. Rushing him from behind, Lowell tackled the Hatter to the floor and tried to escape before he could recover. He underestimated just how quickly the man could move. Before he even made it to the door, the Hatter had grabbed him around the neck and yanked him backward roughly.

"Jus' whaur do ye think yer goin'," the Hatter snarled.

Lowell clattered to the floor and began to sob. "Please, you have to let me go. I will do anything you ask!"

The Hatter's eyes had returned to their glowing red fury. "Aye. I'm goin' to let ye go. Jus' no' the way yer thinkin'."

Pulling him up from the floor by the lapels of his jacket, Tarrant launched the man through the mirror and laughed madly as he smashed it to pieces.

Lowell Manchester landed somewhere in the middle of the Sahara Desert.

….

Absolem was only half through his spiel about Lowell's atrocious behavior when he noticed flaming red hair moving quickly through the crowd. He summed up his speech rather quickly and flew toward the man. The White Queen gave him a look that said she was suspicious about his hasty exit. He was saved from having to explain himself, however, when another Underlandian took his place and she became distracted.

He flew down to Tarrant's shoulder and whispered, "Is it finished?"

The Hatter looked at him and smiled. His eyes were a jovial lime green. "Gone forever, never to bother us again." He grinned at the butterfly. "Why is it that I have the feeling you had planned this all along?"

The butterfly merely replied, "I have no idea what you mean." And flew off out the window with a final farewell of, "Let me know when the Queen finally decides to have that ball."

The Hatter giggled and looked around the room. When he finally found the person he was looking for, he noticed her eyes already on him. They locked eyes and he smiled. And soon his gap-toothed, ear-splitting grin had her smiling in return. He felt like himself again.

…

Alice had watched him from the moment he walked into the room. Her heart sped up just looking at him. She told herself it was because she was still slightly frightened of him. As she watched him make his way through the crowded room, she wondered what he would do. Was he still angry, even though Lowell was locked away? Or had he maybe become his old self again? She crossed her fingers underneath her dress and prayed to whoever was listening to 'please bring the old Hatter back'. She saw him speak to Absolem and then turn to face her.

As soon as she looked into his eyes she knew.

He was back.

She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. She knew she must look like a crazy person, but then she noticed he was smiling too. Slowly, as if uncertain, he made his way through the crowd toward her. She nodded slightly in encouragement and he sat down on the floor near her feet. She sighed happily and ran her fingers through his unruly hair. They still had a lot to talk about, certainly, but she was no longer worrying over their friendship, at least. Suddenly she had the feeling that everything was going to be just fine.

….

Okay, so it's not over yet! More Hatter/Alice fluff next chapter! :) -GLC


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Alice in Wonderland, its characters, places, etc. I am not making money from this.

So…yeah. It's been a LONG time since I updated this, I know. I've been busy working, etc. But here you go! Enjoy and Fairfarren!

BTW, a big thanks to everyone who has reviewed, commented, or added this to their favorites! You guys are the best!

I dedicate this chapter to my best bud, **Walking After Twilight**!

...

Chapter 14: All's well that ends well.

In the Throne Room at Marmoreal, the White Queen was pacing (well, more like gliding) the floor in a state of panic and frustration. Her typically pale complexion was flushed slightly from anger and her hair was a bit more tousled that usual.

While she had been listening to complaints earlier that day, someone had managed to free Lowell from his cell, smash the Room of Mirrors, and burn the Room of Doors beyond repair. She tried to figure out what happened only to find that no one would tell her anything credible. All she had gathered was that the guard that had been ordered to watch Lowell had stepped out to use the bathroom and when he returned Lowell was missing. Apparently no one had seen or heard anything. The oraculum was also missing – or stolen. She assumed it was the latter, even though it was usually her nature to be optimistic and not accusing. She felt as if since the war and Lowell's arrival in Underland, she had become an entirely different person.

She was feeling almost…betrayed. Why would one of her subjects go against her orders? She had only ruled all of Underland officially for a week! Were her subjects already questioning her judgment?

Mirana shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts. It would do no good to think those things. Iracebeth had driven herself crazy and paranoid thinking thoughts such as those and Mirana refused to follow her path. No, she was certain that whoever disobeyed her command had had a reasonable reason for doing so. She nodded to herself for emphasis and then went to find Absolem to see if he had any knowledge of the matter.

…

Tarrant Hightopp was happier than he had been in a long time. After court had adjourned he and Alice had made their way to the kitchens for tea, and now he was currently watching her twirl her spoon around in her cup thoughtfully. He knew he still had some explaining and apologizing to do, but now that he knew Alice was staying and Lowell was gone he couldn't keep the smile from his face.

Alice looked up from her tea and met his green eyes. "You scared me, you know?"

The Hatter's smile drooped. He started to speak, but was cut off when Alice put her hand up.

She sighed softly and said, "I know you only did what you thought was right…whatever that was…but you could have included me in your plans. I could have – would have helped you! You didn't have to try to frighten me into obedience! And tying me to that chair was entirely unacceptable! What if I hadn't managed to get loose and the White Queen had been hurt-"

At this the Hatter looked up from where his eyes had been staring at the floor remorsefully and said perplexed, "What? What do you mean if you hadn't managed to get loose…?"

Alice sniffed and held her head up proudly, "And how did you think Lowell got all those bruises?"

At this Tarrant burst out in hysterical giggles. He tried to stifle his laughter, but soon Alice joined in and the two were laughing so loudly that one of the kitchen maids glared at them.

Once they finally managed to get in control of their giggles, Hatter looked at Alice apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Alice. I was only trying to keep you from harm, but I should have known you could handle it. After all, you are the Champion of Underland!"

Alice knew that he was sincerely sorry for the things he had said and done to her, and she forgave him, but she was still curious about what he had said and done to Lowell. She had heard one of the guards whispering earlier about Lowell being missing from his cell, and she knew Tarrant had something to do with it.

"Tarrant," she began cautiously, not wanting to upset him, "what exactly did you do to Lowell?"

The Hatter grinned mischievously and said, "Don't worry. He's where he belongs."

Alice was about to ask him more when a frog footman came running into the kitchens in a frenzy shouting, "Someone's burned the Room of Doors! It's destroyed! Demolished!"

Alice narrowed her eyes at the Hatter. "…Tarrant…"

He grinned at her whispered, "Well I had to make sure he couldn't come back!"

Alice rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but return his contagious grin.

…

Over the next few days preparations were being made for a new ball to be held celebrating Alice's triumph over the Jabberwocky and her decision to stay in Underland, the end of the war, and although no one mentioned it, getting rid of Lowell.

Absolem had explained everything to the Queen - leaving out Tarrant's name, of course - and after being furious with him for a few hours, she had relented and decided that his decisions were understandable and probably for the best.

Tarrant and Alice had been growing closer each day and even though they had become practically inseparable, Alice was disappointed that he no longer seemed interested in anything other than friendship with her. Tarrant had told her he was in love with her, hadn't he? Had he meant it or was it his madness that had made him say it?

She wondered if he could remember the things that happened when his bouts of madness set in. If he could remember, he made no move to act as if he did. The only affection he showed to her now was in the form of gentle hugs and pats on the hand. She sighed and decided that she would have to ask him about it. The ball was coming up this week, she would just ask him then.

…..

Tarrant Hightopp was incredibly nervous. He would be going before the Queen in an hour's time, to discuss something very important about his future. He had told Alice he had hats to make today, and hoped that she wouldn't come looking for him. If she found out what he was planning it would ruin everything. He paced outside Mirana's study and wrung his hands anxiously. He had never been good at waiting.

…

Okay, so only one more chapter to go! Let me know what you think! -GLC


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own Alice in Wonderland, its characters, places, etc. I am not making money from this.

Here you go. The final installment of Lowell's Leverage. I'm actually kind of sad that it's over. But on to bigger and better things – more fanfics to come after this!

A HUGE thank you to all my reviewers! You guys are so great!

BTW if there are typos in this I apologize. I wrote this at 3am, so there are probably a lot of mistakes.

...

Chapter 15: Making a Scene

The ball was in full swing. Dancers were twirling gracefully across the white marble floor of Marmoreal. However to Alice there seemed to be an absence of color - the color orange that is. She couldn't see the Hatter's flaming hair anywhere in the crowd. He had promised to meet her at the ballroom entrance half an hour ago, but so far he hadn't showed. Alice was usually a patient person. She did not consider herself easily angered or easily offended, but the fact of the matter was that her feelings were deeply hurt. And not only because Tarrant was late. Oh no. What upset her the most was the fact that he seemed to be avoiding her.

After the trial for Lowell's offenses, Tarrant had grown more and more distant from her. Lately she had rarely seen him at all and had taken to showing up at his workshop unannounced, even though she knew it was quite rude. She just didn't know what else to do. He had told her he loved her a few days ago, but now it seemed as if he wanted nothing to do with her. She was confused and hurt.

Last night when she had popped into his workshop unannounced, he had seemed aggravated and anxious. She had asked him if something was wrong, but he would never give her a straight answer. Only riddles. She used to love riddles, but lately she wished Tarrant would just tell her exactly what she wanted to know and stop dancing around the subject. Dancing. That thought brought her back to the present. He had promised to meet her at the entrance of the ballroom, telling her that he had business to attend to before the ball. She wondered what _business_ was so important that while everyone else was having a good time, he had to work. She sighed. Maybe she would just go back to her room and lie down. She had never liked these large parties anyway. Suddenly as if reading her thoughts, Queen Mirana floated over to her and took her hand.

"Are you having a good time, dear Champion?" Mirana asked sweetly.

Not wanting to offend, Alice nodded slightly but asked, "Have you seen Hatter? He was supposed to meet me a half hour ago."

Mirana smiled softly and said, "I'm sure he will be here soon. Whatever he is doing must be very important to keep him away from you."

Alice gave a very unladylike snort. "I doubt it. He doesn't seem to even notice I'm around anymore."

Mirana gave her a troubled look and whispered, "Truly? I was under the impression that he cared for you a good deal."

"Yes, well. So was I until a couple of days ago. I suppose we were both wrong."

"Oh, I wouldn't be too quick to make assumptions about the Hatter, dear. He is always full of surprises." And with that cryptic and annoying statement she glided away to join the festivities, leaving Alice to wonder what Mirana knew that she didn't.

...

Tarrant Hightopp was a nervous wreck. If he didn't pull it together he was going to have an episode, and how would that look in front of the whole ballroom? Not good. Not good at all. He took several deep breaths as he made his way down the hallway toward his Alice. _His_ Alice. Oh, how he loved saying that.

He was late! Oh so incredibly late. If Nivens were present he would be tapping his pocket watch impatiently. He giggled at the thought, but sobered quickly at the thought of Alice being at the ball by herself. Tarrant was supposed to meet her a half hour ago, but he had had to figure out the rest of his plan. He called it the make-Alice-fall-in-love-with-him-and-stay-in-Underland-forever plan.

Approaching the large entryway, he took a look around for Alice. She seemed to be talking quietly to Mirana on the other side of the room. Tarrant felt his heart stutter at the sight of her. She looked lovely. Her dark navy dress made her light skin and hair stand out beautifully. His hands started to shake as he approached her. However was he going to stay sane when she looked that gorgeous? He just hoped he could hold it together long enough for his plan.

...

Alice looked around the room once more, only this time she found who she was looking for. The Hatter walked toward her with an almost crazed look on his face. She wondered if perhaps he had heard her conversation with Mirana. She rubbed her sweaty palms on her dress and walked toward him. They met in the middle of the ballroom and he held his hand out for her to take. When she didn't place her hand in his he frowned and panic swept him. Was she that angry with him for being late?

Alice saw the hurt look on his face and thought, 'Well, now he knows how I feel.' She looked straight into his eyes and said, "Mirana says she thinks you were doing something important and that's why you were so late. Would you like to know what I think?"

Tarrant didn't like the edge in her voice, but nodded for her to continue anyway.

"I think that you are avoiding me-"

As the Hatter tried to interrupt she just got louder. She wanted to get out all of her frustration, even if it meant embarrassing themselves in front of all these people.

"-AND I think that if you are tired of me and don't want to see me anymore, you could have just said so, instead of the way you have been behaving lately, which, by the way, has been VERY RUDE! "

Tarrant's narrowed eyes had turned a dangerous shade of orange, but Alice was through being frightened of him. She knew that he wouldn't hurt her. Try to intimidate her maybe, but not physically hurt her. It was obvious that he was fighting the madness back. He was taking deep breaths through his nose and clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides. But then again Alice happened to be doing the exact same thing at the moment.

...

The ballroom had gone eerily quiet and everyone was watching the pair arguing in the center of the ballroom. Tarrant was fighting to keep his madness under control. Tired of her? He had just spent the last few days making sure she would never leave Underland! Why would he have done that if he was tired of her? Hadn't she listened to him when he told her he loved her?

He closed his eyes a moment and tried his best to hold on to some small shred of sanity before he responded. "I just spent the last THREE days making sure you could stay in Underland forever. WHY would I have done that if I was tired of you being around me?"

Alice threw her hands in the air and yelled, "Well, how am I supposed to know? Just maybe you could try TELLING me what's going on in your head instead of wanting me to GUESS!"

The Hatter's eyes turned a frightening red as he screamed, "AH BLUDDY LOOHVE YEH, WOMAN. AH'VE TAUL YEH THA' BEFOR! AH'LL LOOHVE YEH UNTIL AH DIE!" And then before she even had the chance to speak he grabbed her around the waist and kissed her deeply. There were murmurs and slight gasps from most of the people in the ballroom, but most were too glad that the Hatter's madness didn't result in anyone getting injured or the ball getting destroyed to mind the slight display of affection.

When he pulled away from the kiss, Alice made to speak but he put his hand over her mouth. His eyes were now a startling shade of plum that she had never seen before.

"Let me finish speaking, please," he said softly. He sighed and whispered, "This isn't how I pictured this. But Alice you must know that I love you. I will always love you and will always want you around. I understand that you were angry with me for avoiding you this week and being late, but if you'll allow me I will tell you the reason for it."

Alice was still speechless from the kiss he had given her and her heart was pounding so loud she could hardly hear his words. She merely nodded weakly.

The Hatter took her hands in his and kneeled on the floor in front of her feet. Alice felt as if she might faint. Flashbacks to her incident with Hamish flew into her mind and she stared around at all the people nervously. Seeing that she was terrified, Tarrant squeezed her hands to regain her attention. As she looked at him he said gently, "No one here is judging you, or forcing you to do anything you feel uncomfortable with. If you wish to leave I will understand."

...

A smile crept across her features at his words. He truly did care for her. She shook her head and whispered, "Please, continue, I want to hear what you have to say."

The smile that lit up his face made her knees weak. She could see Mirana smiling at her from across the room and the Tweedles were flashing her thumbs up signs. She looked back to Tarrant who was looking at her with a gentle expression.

"Alice," he began with the lisp she found so endearing. "Underland's Champion, these past few days I have been very busy. I was not intentionally trying to avoid you, but there were things I had to do. The most important of all of my tasks was to ask Mirana for your hand in marriage." Alice gasped softly. Even though she had somewhat guessed this was the reason for his kneeling before her, it was still a shock to hear the words.

"Alice, I would be most humbled and honored if you would become my wife. I will try my best to make you happy in every way from this day forward. Please say you will marry me."

Her heart felt like it grew ten sizes larger and yet she felt it still couldn't hold all of the love and happiness she was feeling. "Oh Tarrant, of course I will…if only you can answer me one thing…"

"Anything at all, love."

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?"

The Hatter grinned madly and scooped her up in his arms. Laughing, he whispered in her ear, "I haven't the slightest idea."

They both giggled and twirled around the dance floor to nonexistent music. Many of the guests murmured that they were obviously mad, but Alice and the Hatter knew that all the best people were.

THE END

Hope you guys liked this! -GLC


	16. Author's Note

Author's note!

So…..I've been thinking of doing another Alice in Wondeland story, but this time have a dark Mirana and a maybe dark Hatter?

Here's the premise:(and don't steal my idea! Haha…but no really, it's my idea)

Mirana (the White Queen), Hatter, and the others convinced Alice that Iracebeth (the Red Queen) was evil and that she had to kill the jabberwocky. But what if they had been lying?

As it turns out, Mirana just wanted to rule all of Underland and Iracebeth was the only one to oppose her. Both queens are crazy (it's wonderland, after all) but while Iracebeth is open about her faults, Mirana tries to hide them.

Alice has to decide who to trust and which queen would be better for Underland. Along the way Hatter tries to keep her on their side (the White Queen's side). But he has been mislead as well. Mirana has convinced him that only after the Red Queen is killed Alice will be able to stay in Underland with him forever. He tries to distract and confuse her with his madness and maybe…affection and desire? because he thinks it is the only way he can be with her.

Hmmm…not sure about that yet. Let me know what you think.

PM me if you have suggestions or comments.

GLC


End file.
